May 11, 2025 • 37 mins
What does true faith look like when everything is on the line? The story of three men facing a blazing furnace offers us a profound answer that challenges our expectations about how God works in our darkest moments.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood before the most powerful ruler in the world, faced with an impossible choice: bow to a golden idol or burn alive. Their response resonates through the centuries: "Our God can save us... but even if He doesn't, we still won't bow." This remarkable "even if" mentality represents the pinnacle of spiritual maturity—faith that isn't conditional on favorable outcomes.
We often pray for God to spare us from the furnace altogether. We want the healing before the diagnosis, the provision before the lack, the restoration before the breakdown. Yet these three men teach us something profound about where miracles actually happen. God didn't prevent them from being thrown into the fire; He showed up within it. The king witnessed not just three men surviving, but four figures walking freely among the flames.
This powerful narrative directly contradicts the prosperity gospel so prevalent today. Faith doesn't guarantee a life free from suffering—it offers us something far better: the assurance of God's presence in our suffering. What if the greatest demonstration of God's power isn't in keeping us from the fire, but in revealing Himself to us and through us while we're in it?
When you're facing impossible circumstances, remember that the miracle may not be in the escape. It may be that when everything around you burns, you discover you're not walking alone. And sometimes, like Nebuchadnezzar witnessing God in the furnace, the people watching you go through the fire might see something of God they never would have seen otherwise.
Subscribe now to explore more stories of faith that stands firm when tested by fire. Share your own "even if" moments in the comments below!
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
God, as always, we thank you so much for who you
are.
Thank you for everything thatyou do.
We pray for the sacrifice thatyou make.
God, I pray this morning as weget into the Word, as we wrestle
with some difficult topics, setour heart at ease, give us
(00:24):
peace, give us understanding.
God, as always, I pray that thewords that come out of my mouth
are not mine.
It's always you, god, it has tobe.
I'm not enough, but with you Iam.
Spirit, guide me, spirit, leadme, spirit, give me everything I
need in this moment, and welove you.
(00:47):
We thank you In Jesus' name.
We pray, amen, amen.
So the book of Daniel is such aninteresting.
Daniel ends up being aninterpreter of dreams.
The people are in exile.
They've been taken out of theirhome.
(01:08):
I don't know if you've ever beenin another country before, but
I can tell you that being inanother country sometimes is
disorienting A lot of times.
I remember the first time Iwent to Guatemala, heavily
speaking Spanish country, andthe only Spanish I had was when
I was in high school and I thinkI barely passed my Spanish
(01:29):
class right.
But I remember getting downthere and we had an interpreter
with us and we had someone whowas with us, but just being
there for a week was just crazy.
The food was different, theculture was different.
I was pretty convinced thateveryone was talking about me
because I was taller thaneveryone there by like a foot,
so like I would walk by peopleand they would mumble something
(01:50):
in Spanish, and I was like Ihope that's good, because I have
no idea.
But there's something aboutbeing in another country that
another culture is disorienting.
And so Daniel and his friendshave been taken into captivity,
into Babylon, and their wholelives have been rearranged.
And so, and their whole liveshave been rearranged.
And so the three gentlemenwe're going to talk about today.
Their names were changed toShadrach, meshach and Abednego,
(02:14):
so their identity has beenstripped from them.
Externally, right.
They've allowed the culture tokind of define who they are, but
not internally.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednegoare three young men who, like
(02:34):
Daniel, have chosen to followGod, and they've committed to
following God no matter whatcomes, and that's important.
So Daniel, chapter 2, kingNebuchadnezzar has a dream, and
he dreams of this giant goldstatue that has all these
different layers.
And if you follow how the dreamends, excuse me, if you follow
(02:58):
the dream and how it ends.
God is basically saying toNebuchadnezzar listen, you're at
the top, you're the gold andyour kingdom's great, but
there's going to be a bunch ofkingdoms after you, but really,
in the end, my kingdom will lastforever.
So Daniel talks about thisgiant rock that hits this rock
of earth, it smashes the statueand it's the only thing
(03:20):
remaining.
And so Nebuchadnezzar hears allof this and he praises Daniel.
And he praises Daniel and heworships Daniel, essentially
because of how incredible he was.
And then Nebuchadnezzar, in allof his narcissism, goes and
builds a 90-foot tall goldstatue of himself Excellent,
(03:43):
she's a good wife, she really is, she really is, really is,
she's amazing.
You guys have no idea.
So nebuchadnezzar has thismoment where he decides he, he,
he sees this dream and hedecides I'm going to build a
giant gold statue of me.
Mean, talk about someone who'sfull of himself.
(04:05):
And on top of that he says now,all of you who live here have
to worship this gold statue ofme.
Seems weird, but Nebuchadnezzar, he's full of himself, right?
So Daniel, chapter 3, verse 1,it says King Nebuchadnezzar made
(04:28):
an image of gold, 60 cubitshigh and 6 cubits wide, and set
it up on the plain of Dora inthe province of Babylon, sets it
right in the middle.
He then summoned the satraps,the prefects, the governors,
advisors, treasurers, judges,magistrates and all the other
provincial officials that cometo the dedication of the image
(04:48):
he had set up.
So the satraps, prefects,governors, advisors, treasurers,
judges, magistrates and all theother provincial officials
assembled for the dedication ofthe image the king
Nebuchadnezzar had set up, andthey stood before it setup.
(05:20):
Whoever does not fall down inworship will immediately be
thrown into a blazing furnace.
By the way you notice, there'snot even a warning.
If you mess up, he says, youwill be thrown into a blazing
furnace.
So if you do not do what I wantyou to do, I will kill you.
We talked about this in Daniel,chapter 2.
(05:44):
Evil people use death as adeterrent.
Continuing in verse 7, it saystherefore, as soon as they heard
the sound of the horn, flute,zither, lyre, harp and all kinds
of music, all the nations andpeoples of every language fell
down and worshipped the image ofgold the king Nebuchadnezzar
had set up.
So, upon hearing the music,everyone in attendance bowed
(06:08):
down and falsely worshippedNebuchadnezzar.
That's important, right.
They didn't do it because theywanted to.
They didn't do it because theyfelt compelled to.
They did it because they had to.
They were forced to do it Forfear of their life.
They had to bow down andworship.
(06:28):
So even the intention of theaudience was not genuine.
Most of them were exiles, mostof them had taken from other
countries.
They weren't worshipingNebuchadnezzar because they
liked him, they were worshipinghim.
They were worshiping the statuebecause if they didn't, they
would die, except for three men.
(06:55):
So we come to find out thatShadrach, meshach and Abednego
again, these are friends ofDaniel's who are now in exile.
They have decided to follow Godand only God, to only worship
God.
We see this in Daniel 1, whenthey only eat the fruit and the
vegetables and they drink onlythe water.
(07:15):
They abstain from the meats andthe feasts because they want to
honor themselves by committingto God.
They might have lost their name, but they knew who they were.
They understood that they weregoing to worship God, no matter
what.
(07:37):
So how do you reconcile livingfor God, worshiping God,
worshiping God in a culturethat's forcing you to worship
someone else?
How do you find the balance?
Because what's going to happenand the threat is, if they don't
(08:01):
worship Nebuchadnezzar, they'lldie.
So I think there's a coupleoptions.
You either worship.
You can worship and bow down tothe golden statue when you mean
it and you abandon your faith.
Or maybe you bow down to thestatue but you don't really mean
it.
You like cross your fingersbehind your back when you're
(08:23):
worshiping the statue, like itdoesn't really matter, but in
private you worship God.
Maybe you do nothing, maybe youstand and you make no decision.
You just sit on the sidelineand decide that I'm not going to
participate.
Or maybe and this is where itgets hard maybe you decide to
(08:48):
stick to who you are and youstick to the knowledge of who
God is.
Maybe you decide that you'regoing to stand for God in chaos,
that you're going to stand andworship the one true king, in
spite of the king who physicallyis ruling.
(09:10):
And so this is where Shadrach,meshach and Abednego it becomes
a challenge for them, startingin Daniel 3, verse 8, it said At
this time, some astrologerscame forward and denounced the
Jews.
They said to King Nebuchadnezzarmay the king live forever.
(09:31):
You know they're buttering himup.
Your majesty has issued adecree that everyone who hears
the sound of the horn, flute,zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all
kinds of music must fall downand worship the image of gold,
and that whoever does not falldown and worship will be thrown
into a blazing furnace.
But there are some Jews whomyou have set over the affairs of
(09:54):
the province of Babylon,shadrach, meshach and Abednego,
who pay no attention to you,your majesty.
They neither serve your godsnor worship the image of gold
you have set up.
It's interesting, because it'snot Nebuchadnezzar that notices
this, by the way.
It's these men who are jealousof them, and they go to the king
(10:17):
and they say listen, everyone'ssupposed to worship you, but
these guys aren't.
And you, now, you know what youhave to do, right, you have to
murder them.
They refuse to listen to you.
Oh, great and wise king.
So, continuing in verse 13,furious with rage,
(10:40):
nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, meshach and Abednego.
So these men were broughtbefore the king, and
Nebuchadnezzar said to them isit true, shadrach, meshach and
Abednego?
So these men were broughtbefore the king, and
Nebuchadnezzar said to them Isit true, shadrach, meshach and
Abednego, that you do not servemy gods or worship the image of
gold I have set up?
Now, when you hear the sound ofthe horn, flute, zither, lyre,
harp, pipe and all kinds ofmusic.
If you are ready to fall downand worship the image I made,
(11:01):
very good.
But if you do not worship it,you will be thrown immediately
into a blazing furnace.
Then what god will be able torescue you from my hand?
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego are in a difficult
place.
(11:22):
You know, when we talk about oneof the hardest conversations
that I think I have, not onlypersonally, but just with people
who are not really Christiansor people who aren't really in
tune with the church, but theyhave a lot of questions.
Well, one of the firstquestions that is often asked is
how do you reconcile the factthat bad things happen and you
(11:45):
claim to serve a good God?
And listen, I'll be completelyhonest, I don't think that's a
really easy question to answer.
Sometimes and I think it's easywhen you're standing on this
side of it and you're not goingthrough it, but like when you're
walking with people throughlife, like cancer diagnosis or
(12:08):
moms, maybe they havemiscarriages or illness or death
, or when people lose their joband lose their home, when you're
walking through turmoil withpeople, it's hard to sit there
and say that, listen, it's goingto be okay.
I believe that, by the way, butsometimes, when you're going
(12:30):
through life.
The answer to that question isnot always easy, but sometimes
the answer is because there'sevil people in the world,
there's bad people in the worldwho mean to harm us, to hurt us.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegohad done nothing wrong.
They were serving like theywere supposed to.
(12:50):
They were doing exactly whatthe king expected.
It wasn't until these other mencame along and they ruined it
for them.
So sometimes the problems wehave in our life, it's not
because of anything we did, butit's because people are evil and
the world has sin and there'sconflict.
I don't blame God for that.
I know he's aware of it, but Idon't blame God for it because
(13:14):
every person has a decision tomake.
Nebuchadnezzar could havechosen to follow God, but
instead he follows himself.
And so when you follow yourself, when you're focused on your
needs, your desires, what youwant, you oftentimes will walk
all over other people to getthere right.
So all of this is happeningsimply because Nebuchadnezzar
(13:39):
was full of himself.
And in verse 16, this is this iswhat, when I said earlier
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegomight have had different names,
but they knew who they were.
So, starting in verse 10, itsays Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego replied to him KingNebuchadnezzar, we do not need
to defend ourselves before youin this matter.
(14:00):
If we are thrown in the blazingfurnace, the God we serve is
able to deliver us from it, andhe will deliver us from your
majesty's hand.
But even if he does not, hewill deliver.
We want you to know, yourmajesty, that we will not serve
(14:21):
your gods or worship the imageof gold you have set up.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegodrew a line in the sand.
They said king, god will saveus, but even if he doesn't,
you're not getting worship fromus.
(14:41):
We will gladly lose our livesjust so that you know you are
not our king.
We do not, we will not, we havenot, nor will we ever worship
you.
Even if God chooses not to saveus in this moment, you will
(15:05):
know that we died onlyworshiping the one who's eternal
.
And I love this because, if youunderstand so, shadrach,
meshach and Abednego, when theymake this statement, when they
talk about God saving them, thisis their history.
In the book of Exodus, god savedthem from Egypt.
(15:31):
I can imagine they heardstories from mom and grandma and
dad and uncles and aunts as itpassed down through the
histories.
They heard stories of thedeliverance from Egypt.
They heard stories of theprovision in the wilderness.
They had stories of thecrossing of the Jordan River in
Joshua.
They had stories of thecrossing of the Jordan River in
Joshua.
They heard stories of theconquest of Jericho, also in
Joshua.
They heard stories of thedeliverance during the time of
the judges.
They heard stories ofdeliverance from foreign enemies
(15:52):
during the kings.
So this is 1 Samuel and 2 Kings.
They had grown up knowing whoGod was, knowing what God was
capable of, and they were notworried about the outcome.
They understood that whether ornot God saved them didn't
(16:14):
change who he was.
Deuteronomy 31.6.
Moses writes this.
It says be strong andcourageous, do not be afraid or
terrified Because of them, forthe Lord, your God, goes with
you, will never leave you norforsake you.
Joshua 1.9.
(16:36):
It says have I not commandedyou?
Be strong and courageous, donot be afraid, do not be
discouraged, For the Lord, yourGod, will be with you wherever
you go.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegounderstood that Nebuchadnezzar
might take their life, but hecan never take their soul.
Even if God doesn't save us,understand, o King, we will not
(17:10):
worship you.
Can you imagine having thatkind of faith that, as your
world is falling apart, aseverything is falling apart, as
everything is unwinding, thatyou can stand in the face of
adversity.
You can stand in the face of aking who wants to kill you and
(17:30):
say it doesn't matter what youdo to us, we're not yours,
understand, we do not worshipyou.
I wonder what was going throughShadrach, meshach and
Abednego's mind.
You go back to Daniel, chapter 2, and Daniel kind of interpreted
(17:51):
the dream and they weresupposed to be murdered and
Daniel kind of like turns itsideways, right, it doesn't
happen.
So you get to Daniel 3, andShadrach, meshach and Abednego
they're in this situation andthey're praying.
I can only imagine they'repraying fervently that God will
save them, god will protect them, that God will keep them from
(18:12):
going into the furnace.
If I was them, that would be myprayer.
Dear God, either kill me now orstop this from happening
altogether.
I don't want to be thrown intoa fiery furnace, especially
because they had done nothingwrong.
They didn't deserve this.
(18:38):
You know one of the things thatI struggle with probably the
most, and maybe you've heard it,maybe you haven't, but there's
this idea that floats around insome churches that's known as
the prosperity gospel, and theidea behind the prosperity
gospel is, if you tithe theright amount, if you pray enough
, if you do the right things, ifyou live a righteous life,
(19:00):
you'll never experience any poorhealth, you'll never experience
financial burdens, thateverything will always work out
for you.
There are churches every Sundaythat get up and they teach this
.
That as long as you do thesethings, if you're really focused
on God, he's going to give youevery desire of your heart, no
matter what.
(19:20):
By the way, I'm just going tosay this the only people who
seem to prosper in prosperitygospels are the people who are
preaching it.
Those are the ones who seem tobenefit from it.
But when you think about it,though, I understand why the
(19:41):
prosperity gospels has such anappeal to it.
How could it not?
You mean to tell me that if Isay the right thing, if I pray
the right thing, if I do theright thing, god's going to give
me everything that I want.
How in the world could we notbe excited for that want?
(20:08):
How in the world could we notbe excited for that?
I think it draws people.
There's an author named KateBauer, or Bowler, and there's a
book that I got from herrecently and it's titled
Everything Happens for a Reasonand All the Other Lies that I
Love.
It's kind of a tongue-in-cheekthing but she's actually a
historian who has studied kindof the prosperity gospel and how
(20:29):
it's grown in the church inthis country and she'll tell you
and if you read her book shedespises it.
However, at 35 years old shewas diagnosed with terminal
cancer and she writes in thisbook that she understood why
people longed for that, becauseall she wanted was to be healed.
(20:52):
That's all she wanted.
She wanted God to spare herlife so that her kids didn't
have to raise up without a mom.
She wanted God to spare herlife so that her husband didn't
have to raise up without a mom.
She wanted God to spare herlife so that her husband didn't
have to try to figure it out onher own.
So she had colleagues andchurches and her university was
praying for her and praying forher.
And then so she writes that sheunderstands why the prosperity
(21:15):
gospel is so important, becausewhen you look at life and the
burden of life, it reflects itto this lens that everything is
going to be okay, that faith isalways going to make a way and
everything is going to happenexactly like we want it to.
But.
But the problem is is you and Ilive in the real world and we
realize that doesn't alwayshappen.
(21:35):
Healing doesn't always come.
Healing doesn't always come.
Living paycheck to paycheckdoesn't always change.
Sometimes our kids walk awayfrom God and they never come
(21:56):
back.
We live in this constantstruggle of wanting things our
way, except Shadrach, meshachand Abednego.
I think their approach isimpressive Because they say, on
(22:17):
one hand, that we know that Godcan save us, but, nebuchadnezzar
, even if he doesn't, thatdoesn't change anything.
We will die knowing that wewill not give our life and our
(22:38):
worship to you, even if itdoesn't work out.
Having an even if mentalitymeans we don't just worship God
for what he can do.
We worship him for who he is.
It means our faith is notconditional on outcomes.
It says even if I don't get thehealing, even if the
(23:01):
relationship isn't restored,even if the breakthrough doesn't
come the way I hoped, I willstill trust, still praise, still
follow.
This kind of faith doesn'tignore pain.
It stands in the middle of itwith confidence in God's
character.
It shifts our focus from whatwe want to what God knows is
best and when we live with, evenif faith, we declare to the
(23:24):
world that God is enough, notjust in the blessing but also in
the battle.
Nebuchadnezzar is furious.
Daniel, chapter 9, or chapter 3, verse 19.
It says that Nebuchadnezzar isfurious.
Daniel 3, verse 19.
(23:45):
It says that Nebuchadnezzar wasfurious with Shadrach, meshach
and Abednego, and his attitudetoward them changed.
He ordered the furnace heatedseven times hotter than usual
and commanded some of thestrongest soldiers in his army
to tie up Shadrach, meshach andAbednego and throw them into the
blazing furnace.
So these men, wearing theirrobes, trousers, turbans and
(24:07):
other clothes, were bound andthrown into the blazing furnace.
The king's command was sourgent and the furnace was so
hot that the flames of the firekilled the soldiers who took up
Shadrach, meshach and Abednego,and these three men, firmly tied
, fell into the blazing furnace.
(24:28):
They were thrown into the fire.
God didn't save them before thefire.
They were bound, they weretossed.
They were tossed in thisfurnace that was so hot that it
killed the men that took them.
But verse 24,.
(24:51):
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leapedto his feet in amazement and
asked his advisors weren't therethree men that were tied up and
threw into the fire?
They replied certainly yourMajesty.
He said Look, I see four menwalking around the fire, unbound
and unharmed, and the fourthlooks like the sons of the gods.
(25:12):
Can you imagine that moment?
Not only were they untied andwalking around, but all of a
sudden there's four of them inthis furnace that had killed the
men who just dropped them in.
They're walking around as ifnothing had happened.
(25:47):
I have a hard time sometimesreconciling this in my mind,
because I can tell you thatsometimes, when I pray for
things, I want God to deliver mebefore the bad thing comes.
That's what I want.
I want God to deliver me.
It sounds this is going tosound stupid to you.
It's funny to me, though Ithink Daniel's probably going to
(26:10):
be mad at me.
I think that I'm blessedbecause every time I go anywhere
, to any kind of store, there'salways a Parkins bar right up
front.
It's always there for me.
I'm not even kidding.
This happens so much that everytime I find one, I'm just like
thank you Jesus.
Because I'm not even kidding,this happens so much that every
time I find one, I'm just likethank you Jesus, because I'm
convinced that God, witheverything going on in the world
(26:32):
, god's like let's make sureJason has a parking spot.
Really, I think he does it forthe sake of my kids and my wife
because I'm the guy that drivesaround and so I find one, right,
but it's funny, right?
But that's how short-sighted weare.
Sometimes we're focused onwhether or not I have a parking
spot instead of worrying aboutwhether or not my neighbor knows
(26:58):
Jesus.
We're worried about whether ornot I have all of my needs met,
but forgetting there's peopleall around us that we could help
that we choose not to.
We're worried about whether ornot we're entertained throughout
the day.
If we like everything in thechurch that's happening, whether
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it's the music or the lights.
We're more worried about thatthan whether or not the Word is
being taught truthfully in thepulpit.
We allow ourselves to beconsumed with these things and
listen.
I'm not trying to underminethat.
I think God cares about thosethings.
I think he cares about my life.
I think he cares about who I am.
I think he cares about thelittle details of my life, but
(27:44):
you and I oftentimes get sofocused on it that we actually
miss what's happening.
We actually miss in thosemoments what's going on right?
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego they could have been
upset that God didn't save themfrom the fire.
And again, that's where I havea hard time reconciling, because
(28:05):
why wouldn't God spare themthat?
And instead what we see isthey're thrown into the blazing
furnace, they're set free andthey're walking around.
So Daniel 3, chapter 26 through30, says Nebuchadnezzar then
approached the opening of theblazing furnace and shouted
(28:27):
Shadrach, meshach and Abednego,servants of the most high God.
By the way you realize, heshifted his focus All of a
sudden.
Nebuchadnezzar's like I'm Godand you're gonna worship me.
But he says there's no othergods, right.
But he says to Shadrach,meshach and Abednego, servants
of the Most High God, come out,come here.
(28:52):
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego came out of the fire.
The middle child in me would belike no, you come here, you
come in.
But they come out of the fireand the satraps, prefects,
(29:13):
governors and royal advisorscrowded around them.
They saw that the I can't evenwalk by someone's house with a
bonfire and not smell like smoke.
But they didn't even smell likefire.
It appeared as if nothing hadhappened to them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said Praisebe to the God of Shadrach,
(29:33):
meshach and Abednego, who hassent his angel and rescued his
servants.
They trusted in him and defiedthe king's command and were
unwilling to give up their livesrather than serve or worship
any god except their own god.
Therefore, I decree that thepeople of any nation or language
who say anything against thegod of Shadrach, meshach and
(29:53):
Abednego again, he's going alittle extreme be cut into
pieces and their houses beturned into piles of rubble.
For no other god can save inthis way.
The most narcissistic king, whomade a gold statue of himself,
(30:14):
acknowledges that no other Godcan save this way.
What would have happened hadthey not been in the fire?
What would have happened ifthey just went about their life?
What would have happened ifthey would have worshipped this
statue?
(30:34):
Nebuchadnezzar would have neverhad an encounter with the true
God of creation.
What if the miracle doesn't comeuntil you're in the fire?
What if it's not before thediagnosis, before the heartbreak
, before the disappointment, butright in the middle of it?
(30:54):
That's exactly what we see inDaniel 3.
God didn't prevent the furnace.
He showed up inside it.
The miracle wasn't in theavoidance of pain, it was in his
presence during it.
Sometimes we want God to rescueus before the struggle, but
often his greatest work is donewhen we're standing in the heat,
completely dependent on him.
(31:16):
That's where faith is refined.
That's where idols fall away.
That's where we see him mostclearly, not as a distant God
who keeps us from trouble, but afaithful Savior who meets us in
it.
So if you're in the fire rightnow, don't lose heart.
The miracle may not be in theescape.
It may be that you're not alonein the flames.
(31:41):
That rings true in so many partsof our lives, because so often
we find ourselves.
This is why the prosperitygospel when you really break it
down, it doesn't make sense.
Because we talk about how, ifwe have enough faith, everything
is going to be okay and workout in our favor.
And then you and I have to walkthrough life and be broken.
We experience loss, weexperience hurt, we experience
(32:04):
suffering and the way that theyteach the prosperity gospel.
They say it's your fault thatall of this is happening.
But that's not what we see inScripture.
We see a God who is sovereignand even though he knows all
things and things happen he'sstill in it and he's still in it
(32:30):
.
Being able to find God in thefurnace is the hardest thing we
have to do, but it's sometimesthe greatest thing for our faith
.
If God gave me everything thatI wanted every single time I
asked for it, I'd have noresilience, I'd be spoiled, I'd
(32:52):
be a brat.
Suffering is not easy.
I would argue that suffering.
If you go back to the beginning, suffering wasn't part of this.
They didn't have that wasn'tpart of this.
They didn't have that in theGarden of Eden.
Suffering came because sin cameinto the world and it ruined
(33:14):
everything.
But God responded to thatbrokenness and sent Jesus to die
.
He healed that, he fixed theproblem.
It doesn't mean it happens here.
Sometimes we don't get it untilthe next life.
Sometimes we don't experiencethe relief, we don't experience
(33:37):
the healing, we don't experiencethe answer.
But if we live in Christ, ifwe've accepted Christ, if we've
made the decision to follow him,we can rest assured that what's
coming next is what matters,because at the end of this world
, all of my suffering and yoursuffering will go away.
So when people ask me thequestion how do you reconcile
(34:00):
suffering in a world like thisand you're talking about how
good your God is, and my answeris probably pretty simple I
didn't.
I didn't reconcile anything.
God did.
God saw all of the brokenness,all of the sin, everything that
(34:21):
was going on in the world and hesent Himself as His Son to die.
He took it all, all of the pain, all of the misery, all of the
suffering, so that you and I canbe raised to life with him when
it's all over.
I don't have an easy answer forwhy you and I might go through
things, but I can say that arelationship with Jesus makes it
(34:48):
a whole lot easier.
That peace and knowing so theoutcome of Daniel 3 is truly
worth celebrating.
God showed up in the fire,delivered his people and
revealed his glory to the world.
But we also have to acknowledgethat it doesn't always end that
(35:10):
way.
Sometimes, despite our faith,the fire still burns, the
healing doesn't come, the doordoesn't open, the miracle
doesn't happen the way we hadhoped.
And yet the power of this storyisn't just in the rescue, it's
in the resolve, it's in thefaith that says, even if he does
(35:33):
not.
And they still refuse to bow.
That kind of faith God honors,not because it's guaranteed
deliverance, but because itclings to him above all else.
So, yes, celebrate the victory,but also learn to worship in
the uncertainty, knowing that,whether he delivers us from the
fire or walks with us through it.
Our God is still good and he isalways enough.
(35:57):
That's right.
God, as always, we thank you so much for who you
are.
Thank you for everything thatyou do.
We pray for the sacrifice thatyou make.
God, I pray this morning as weget into the Word, as we wrestle
with some difficult topics, setour heart at ease, give us
(00:24):
peace, give us understanding.
God, as always, I pray that thewords that come out of my mouth
are not mine.
It's always you, god, it has tobe.
I'm not enough, but with you Iam.
Spirit, guide me, spirit, leadme, spirit, give me everything I
need in this moment, and welove you.
(00:47):
We thank you In Jesus' name.
We pray, amen, amen.
So the book of Daniel is such aninteresting.
Daniel ends up being aninterpreter of dreams.
The people are in exile.
They've been taken out of theirhome.
(01:08):
I don't know if you've ever beenin another country before, but
I can tell you that being inanother country sometimes is
disorienting A lot of times.
I remember the first time Iwent to Guatemala, heavily
speaking Spanish country, andthe only Spanish I had was when
I was in high school and I thinkI barely passed my Spanish
(01:29):
class right.
But I remember getting downthere and we had an interpreter
with us and we had someone whowas with us, but just being
there for a week was just crazy.
The food was different, theculture was different.
I was pretty convinced thateveryone was talking about me
because I was taller thaneveryone there by like a foot,
so like I would walk by peopleand they would mumble something
(01:50):
in Spanish, and I was like Ihope that's good, because I have
no idea.
But there's something aboutbeing in another country that
another culture is disorienting.
And so Daniel and his friendshave been taken into captivity,
into Babylon, and their wholelives have been rearranged.
And so, and their whole liveshave been rearranged.
And so the three gentlemenwe're going to talk about today.
Their names were changed toShadrach, meshach and Abednego,
(02:14):
so their identity has beenstripped from them.
Externally, right.
They've allowed the culture tokind of define who they are, but
not internally.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednegoare three young men who, like
(02:34):
Daniel, have chosen to followGod, and they've committed to
following God no matter whatcomes, and that's important.
So Daniel, chapter 2, kingNebuchadnezzar has a dream, and
he dreams of this giant goldstatue that has all these
different layers.
And if you follow how the dreamends, excuse me, if you follow
(02:58):
the dream and how it ends.
God is basically saying toNebuchadnezzar listen, you're at
the top, you're the gold andyour kingdom's great, but
there's going to be a bunch ofkingdoms after you, but really,
in the end, my kingdom will lastforever.
So Daniel talks about thisgiant rock that hits this rock
of earth, it smashes the statueand it's the only thing
(03:20):
remaining.
And so Nebuchadnezzar hears allof this and he praises Daniel.
And he praises Daniel and heworships Daniel, essentially
because of how incredible he was.
And then Nebuchadnezzar, in allof his narcissism, goes and
builds a 90-foot tall goldstatue of himself Excellent,
(03:43):
she's a good wife, she really is, she really is, really is,
she's amazing.
You guys have no idea.
So nebuchadnezzar has thismoment where he decides he, he,
he sees this dream and hedecides I'm going to build a
giant gold statue of me.
Mean, talk about someone who'sfull of himself.
(04:05):
And on top of that he says now,all of you who live here have
to worship this gold statue ofme.
Seems weird, but Nebuchadnezzar, he's full of himself, right?
So Daniel, chapter 3, verse 1,it says King Nebuchadnezzar made
(04:28):
an image of gold, 60 cubitshigh and 6 cubits wide, and set
it up on the plain of Dora inthe province of Babylon, sets it
right in the middle.
He then summoned the satraps,the prefects, the governors,
advisors, treasurers, judges,magistrates and all the other
provincial officials that cometo the dedication of the image
(04:48):
he had set up.
So the satraps, prefects,governors, advisors, treasurers,
judges, magistrates and all theother provincial officials
assembled for the dedication ofthe image the king
Nebuchadnezzar had set up, andthey stood before it setup.
(05:20):
Whoever does not fall down inworship will immediately be
thrown into a blazing furnace.
By the way you notice, there'snot even a warning.
If you mess up, he says, youwill be thrown into a blazing
furnace.
So if you do not do what I wantyou to do, I will kill you.
We talked about this in Daniel,chapter 2.
(05:44):
Evil people use death as adeterrent.
Continuing in verse 7, it saystherefore, as soon as they heard
the sound of the horn, flute,zither, lyre, harp and all kinds
of music, all the nations andpeoples of every language fell
down and worshipped the image ofgold the king Nebuchadnezzar
had set up.
So, upon hearing the music,everyone in attendance bowed
(06:08):
down and falsely worshippedNebuchadnezzar.
That's important, right.
They didn't do it because theywanted to.
They didn't do it because theyfelt compelled to.
They did it because they had to.
They were forced to do it Forfear of their life.
They had to bow down andworship.
(06:28):
So even the intention of theaudience was not genuine.
Most of them were exiles, mostof them had taken from other
countries.
They weren't worshipingNebuchadnezzar because they
liked him, they were worshipinghim.
They were worshiping the statuebecause if they didn't, they
would die, except for three men.
(06:55):
So we come to find out thatShadrach, meshach and Abednego
again, these are friends ofDaniel's who are now in exile.
They have decided to follow Godand only God, to only worship
God.
We see this in Daniel 1, whenthey only eat the fruit and the
vegetables and they drink onlythe water.
(07:15):
They abstain from the meats andthe feasts because they want to
honor themselves by committingto God.
They might have lost their name, but they knew who they were.
They understood that they weregoing to worship God, no matter
what.
(07:37):
So how do you reconcile livingfor God, worshiping God,
worshiping God in a culturethat's forcing you to worship
someone else?
How do you find the balance?
Because what's going to happenand the threat is, if they don't
(08:01):
worship Nebuchadnezzar, they'lldie.
So I think there's a coupleoptions.
You either worship.
You can worship and bow down tothe golden statue when you mean
it and you abandon your faith.
Or maybe you bow down to thestatue but you don't really mean
it.
You like cross your fingersbehind your back when you're
(08:23):
worshiping the statue, like itdoesn't really matter, but in
private you worship God.
Maybe you do nothing, maybe youstand and you make no decision.
You just sit on the sidelineand decide that I'm not going to
participate.
Or maybe and this is where itgets hard maybe you decide to
(08:48):
stick to who you are and youstick to the knowledge of who
God is.
Maybe you decide that you'regoing to stand for God in chaos,
that you're going to stand andworship the one true king, in
spite of the king who physicallyis ruling.
(09:10):
And so this is where Shadrach,meshach and Abednego it becomes
a challenge for them, startingin Daniel 3, verse 8, it said At
this time, some astrologerscame forward and denounced the
Jews.
They said to King Nebuchadnezzarmay the king live forever.
(09:31):
You know they're buttering himup.
Your majesty has issued adecree that everyone who hears
the sound of the horn, flute,zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all
kinds of music must fall downand worship the image of gold,
and that whoever does not falldown and worship will be thrown
into a blazing furnace.
But there are some Jews whomyou have set over the affairs of
(09:54):
the province of Babylon,shadrach, meshach and Abednego,
who pay no attention to you,your majesty.
They neither serve your godsnor worship the image of gold
you have set up.
It's interesting, because it'snot Nebuchadnezzar that notices
this, by the way.
It's these men who are jealousof them, and they go to the king
(10:17):
and they say listen, everyone'ssupposed to worship you, but
these guys aren't.
And you, now, you know what youhave to do, right, you have to
murder them.
They refuse to listen to you.
Oh, great and wise king.
So, continuing in verse 13,furious with rage,
(10:40):
nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, meshach and Abednego.
So these men were broughtbefore the king, and
Nebuchadnezzar said to them isit true, shadrach, meshach and
Abednego?
So these men were broughtbefore the king, and
Nebuchadnezzar said to them Isit true, shadrach, meshach and
Abednego, that you do not servemy gods or worship the image of
gold I have set up?
Now, when you hear the sound ofthe horn, flute, zither, lyre,
harp, pipe and all kinds ofmusic.
If you are ready to fall downand worship the image I made,
(11:01):
very good.
But if you do not worship it,you will be thrown immediately
into a blazing furnace.
Then what god will be able torescue you from my hand?
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego are in a difficult
place.
(11:22):
You know, when we talk about oneof the hardest conversations
that I think I have, not onlypersonally, but just with people
who are not really Christiansor people who aren't really in
tune with the church, but theyhave a lot of questions.
Well, one of the firstquestions that is often asked is
how do you reconcile the factthat bad things happen and you
(11:45):
claim to serve a good God?
And listen, I'll be completelyhonest, I don't think that's a
really easy question to answer.
Sometimes and I think it's easywhen you're standing on this
side of it and you're not goingthrough it, but like when you're
walking with people throughlife, like cancer diagnosis or
(12:08):
moms, maybe they havemiscarriages or illness or death
, or when people lose their joband lose their home, when you're
walking through turmoil withpeople, it's hard to sit there
and say that, listen, it's goingto be okay.
I believe that, by the way, butsometimes, when you're going
(12:30):
through life.
The answer to that question isnot always easy, but sometimes
the answer is because there'sevil people in the world,
there's bad people in the worldwho mean to harm us, to hurt us.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegohad done nothing wrong.
They were serving like theywere supposed to.
(12:50):
They were doing exactly whatthe king expected.
It wasn't until these other mencame along and they ruined it
for them.
So sometimes the problems wehave in our life, it's not
because of anything we did, butit's because people are evil and
the world has sin and there'sconflict.
I don't blame God for that.
I know he's aware of it, but Idon't blame God for it because
(13:14):
every person has a decision tomake.
Nebuchadnezzar could havechosen to follow God, but
instead he follows himself.
And so when you follow yourself, when you're focused on your
needs, your desires, what youwant, you oftentimes will walk
all over other people to getthere right.
So all of this is happeningsimply because Nebuchadnezzar
(13:39):
was full of himself.
And in verse 16, this is this iswhat, when I said earlier
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegomight have had different names,
but they knew who they were.
So, starting in verse 10, itsays Shadrach, meshach and
Abednego replied to him KingNebuchadnezzar, we do not need
to defend ourselves before youin this matter.
(14:00):
If we are thrown in the blazingfurnace, the God we serve is
able to deliver us from it, andhe will deliver us from your
majesty's hand.
But even if he does not, hewill deliver.
We want you to know, yourmajesty, that we will not serve
(14:21):
your gods or worship the imageof gold you have set up.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegodrew a line in the sand.
They said king, god will saveus, but even if he doesn't,
you're not getting worship fromus.
(14:41):
We will gladly lose our livesjust so that you know you are
not our king.
We do not, we will not, we havenot, nor will we ever worship
you.
Even if God chooses not to saveus in this moment, you will
(15:05):
know that we died onlyworshiping the one who's eternal
.
And I love this because, if youunderstand so, shadrach,
meshach and Abednego, when theymake this statement, when they
talk about God saving them, thisis their history.
In the book of Exodus, god savedthem from Egypt.
(15:31):
I can imagine they heardstories from mom and grandma and
dad and uncles and aunts as itpassed down through the
histories.
They heard stories of thedeliverance from Egypt.
They heard stories of theprovision in the wilderness.
They had stories of thecrossing of the Jordan River in
Joshua.
They had stories of thecrossing of the Jordan River in
Joshua.
They heard stories of theconquest of Jericho, also in
Joshua.
They heard stories of thedeliverance during the time of
the judges.
They heard stories ofdeliverance from foreign enemies
(15:52):
during the kings.
So this is 1 Samuel and 2 Kings.
They had grown up knowing whoGod was, knowing what God was
capable of, and they were notworried about the outcome.
They understood that whether ornot God saved them didn't
(16:14):
change who he was.
Deuteronomy 31.6.
Moses writes this.
It says be strong andcourageous, do not be afraid or
terrified Because of them, forthe Lord, your God, goes with
you, will never leave you norforsake you.
Joshua 1.9.
(16:36):
It says have I not commandedyou?
Be strong and courageous, donot be afraid, do not be
discouraged, For the Lord, yourGod, will be with you wherever
you go.
Shadrach, meshach and Abednegounderstood that Nebuchadnezzar
might take their life, but hecan never take their soul.
Even if God doesn't save us,understand, o King, we will not
(17:10):
worship you.
Can you imagine having thatkind of faith that, as your
world is falling apart, aseverything is falling apart, as
everything is unwinding, thatyou can stand in the face of
adversity.
You can stand in the face of aking who wants to kill you and
(17:30):
say it doesn't matter what youdo to us, we're not yours,
understand, we do not worshipyou.
I wonder what was going throughShadrach, meshach and
Abednego's mind.
You go back to Daniel, chapter 2, and Daniel kind of interpreted
(17:51):
the dream and they weresupposed to be murdered and
Daniel kind of like turns itsideways, right, it doesn't
happen.
So you get to Daniel 3, andShadrach, meshach and Abednego
they're in this situation andthey're praying.
I can only imagine they'repraying fervently that God will
save them, god will protect them, that God will keep them from
(18:12):
going into the furnace.
If I was them, that would be myprayer.
Dear God, either kill me now orstop this from happening
altogether.
I don't want to be thrown intoa fiery furnace, especially
because they had done nothingwrong.
They didn't deserve this.
(18:38):
You know one of the things thatI struggle with probably the
most, and maybe you've heard it,maybe you haven't, but there's
this idea that floats around insome churches that's known as
the prosperity gospel, and theidea behind the prosperity
gospel is, if you tithe theright amount, if you pray enough
, if you do the right things, ifyou live a righteous life,
(19:00):
you'll never experience any poorhealth, you'll never experience
financial burdens, thateverything will always work out
for you.
There are churches every Sundaythat get up and they teach this
.
That as long as you do thesethings, if you're really focused
on God, he's going to give youevery desire of your heart, no
matter what.
(19:20):
By the way, I'm just going tosay this the only people who
seem to prosper in prosperitygospels are the people who are
preaching it.
Those are the ones who seem tobenefit from it.
But when you think about it,though, I understand why the
(19:41):
prosperity gospels has such anappeal to it.
How could it not?
You mean to tell me that if Isay the right thing, if I pray
the right thing, if I do theright thing, god's going to give
me everything that I want.
How in the world could we notbe excited for that want?
(20:08):
How in the world could we notbe excited for that?
I think it draws people.
There's an author named KateBauer, or Bowler, and there's a
book that I got from herrecently and it's titled
Everything Happens for a Reasonand All the Other Lies that I
Love.
It's kind of a tongue-in-cheekthing but she's actually a
historian who has studied kindof the prosperity gospel and how
(20:29):
it's grown in the church inthis country and she'll tell you
and if you read her book shedespises it.
However, at 35 years old shewas diagnosed with terminal
cancer and she writes in thisbook that she understood why
people longed for that, becauseall she wanted was to be healed.
(20:52):
That's all she wanted.
She wanted God to spare herlife so that her kids didn't
have to raise up without a mom.
She wanted God to spare herlife so that her husband didn't
have to raise up without a mom.
She wanted God to spare herlife so that her husband didn't
have to try to figure it out onher own.
So she had colleagues andchurches and her university was
praying for her and praying forher.
And then so she writes that sheunderstands why the prosperity
(21:15):
gospel is so important, becausewhen you look at life and the
burden of life, it reflects itto this lens that everything is
going to be okay, that faith isalways going to make a way and
everything is going to happenexactly like we want it to.
But.
But the problem is is you and Ilive in the real world and we
realize that doesn't alwayshappen.
(21:35):
Healing doesn't always come.
Healing doesn't always come.
Living paycheck to paycheckdoesn't always change.
Sometimes our kids walk awayfrom God and they never come
(21:56):
back.
We live in this constantstruggle of wanting things our
way, except Shadrach, meshachand Abednego.
I think their approach isimpressive Because they say, on
(22:17):
one hand, that we know that Godcan save us, but, nebuchadnezzar
, even if he doesn't, thatdoesn't change anything.
We will die knowing that wewill not give our life and our
(22:38):
worship to you, even if itdoesn't work out.
Having an even if mentalitymeans we don't just worship God
for what he can do.
We worship him for who he is.
It means our faith is notconditional on outcomes.
It says even if I don't get thehealing, even if the
(23:01):
relationship isn't restored,even if the breakthrough doesn't
come the way I hoped, I willstill trust, still praise, still
follow.
This kind of faith doesn'tignore pain.
It stands in the middle of itwith confidence in God's
character.
It shifts our focus from whatwe want to what God knows is
best and when we live with, evenif faith, we declare to the
(23:24):
world that God is enough, notjust in the blessing but also in
the battle.
Nebuchadnezzar is furious.
Daniel, chapter 9, or chapter 3, verse 19.
It says that Nebuchadnezzar isfurious.
Daniel 3, verse 19.
(23:45):
It says that Nebuchadnezzar wasfurious with Shadrach, meshach
and Abednego, and his attitudetoward them changed.
He ordered the furnace heatedseven times hotter than usual
and commanded some of thestrongest soldiers in his army
to tie up Shadrach, meshach andAbednego and throw them into the
blazing furnace.
So these men, wearing theirrobes, trousers, turbans and
(24:07):
other clothes, were bound andthrown into the blazing furnace.
The king's command was sourgent and the furnace was so
hot that the flames of the firekilled the soldiers who took up
Shadrach, meshach and Abednego,and these three men, firmly tied
, fell into the blazing furnace.
(24:28):
They were thrown into the fire.
God didn't save them before thefire.
They were bound, they weretossed.
They were tossed in thisfurnace that was so hot that it
killed the men that took them.
But verse 24,.
(24:51):
Then King Nebuchadnezzar leapedto his feet in amazement and
asked his advisors weren't therethree men that were tied up and
threw into the fire?
They replied certainly yourMajesty.
He said Look, I see four menwalking around the fire, unbound
and unharmed, and the fourthlooks like the sons of the gods.
(25:12):
Can you imagine that moment?
Not only were they untied andwalking around, but all of a
sudden there's four of them inthis furnace that had killed the
men who just dropped them in.
They're walking around as ifnothing had happened.
(25:47):
I have a hard time sometimesreconciling this in my mind,
because I can tell you thatsometimes, when I pray for
things, I want God to deliver mebefore the bad thing comes.
That's what I want.
I want God to deliver me.
It sounds this is going tosound stupid to you.
It's funny to me, though Ithink Daniel's probably going to
(26:10):
be mad at me.
I think that I'm blessedbecause every time I go anywhere
, to any kind of store, there'salways a Parkins bar right up
front.
It's always there for me.
I'm not even kidding.
This happens so much that everytime I find one, I'm just like
thank you Jesus.
Because I'm not even kidding,this happens so much that every
time I find one, I'm just likethank you Jesus, because I'm
convinced that God, witheverything going on in the world
(26:32):
, god's like let's make sureJason has a parking spot.
Really, I think he does it forthe sake of my kids and my wife
because I'm the guy that drivesaround and so I find one, right,
but it's funny, right?
But that's how short-sighted weare.
Sometimes we're focused onwhether or not I have a parking
spot instead of worrying aboutwhether or not my neighbor knows
(26:58):
Jesus.
We're worried about whether ornot I have all of my needs met,
but forgetting there's peopleall around us that we could help
that we choose not to.
We're worried about whether ornot we're entertained throughout
the day.
If we like everything in thechurch that's happening, whether
(27:20):
it's the music or the lights.
We're more worried about thatthan whether or not the Word is
being taught truthfully in thepulpit.
We allow ourselves to beconsumed with these things and
listen.
I'm not trying to underminethat.
I think God cares about thosethings.
I think he cares about my life.
I think he cares about who I am.
I think he cares about thelittle details of my life, but
(27:44):
you and I oftentimes get sofocused on it that we actually
miss what's happening.
We actually miss in thosemoments what's going on right?
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego they could have been
upset that God didn't save themfrom the fire.
And again, that's where I havea hard time reconciling, because
(28:05):
why wouldn't God spare themthat?
And instead what we see isthey're thrown into the blazing
furnace, they're set free andthey're walking around.
So Daniel 3, chapter 26 through30, says Nebuchadnezzar then
approached the opening of theblazing furnace and shouted
(28:27):
Shadrach, meshach and Abednego,servants of the most high God.
By the way you realize, heshifted his focus All of a
sudden.
Nebuchadnezzar's like I'm Godand you're gonna worship me.
But he says there's no othergods, right.
But he says to Shadrach,meshach and Abednego, servants
of the Most High God, come out,come here.
(28:52):
So Shadrach, meshach andAbednego came out of the fire.
The middle child in me would belike no, you come here, you
come in.
But they come out of the fireand the satraps, prefects,
(29:13):
governors and royal advisorscrowded around them.
They saw that the I can't evenwalk by someone's house with a
bonfire and not smell like smoke.
But they didn't even smell likefire.
It appeared as if nothing hadhappened to them.
Then Nebuchadnezzar said Praisebe to the God of Shadrach,
(29:33):
meshach and Abednego, who hassent his angel and rescued his
servants.
They trusted in him and defiedthe king's command and were
unwilling to give up their livesrather than serve or worship
any god except their own god.
Therefore, I decree that thepeople of any nation or language
who say anything against thegod of Shadrach, meshach and
(29:53):
Abednego again, he's going alittle extreme be cut into
pieces and their houses beturned into piles of rubble.
For no other god can save inthis way.
The most narcissistic king, whomade a gold statue of himself,
(30:14):
acknowledges that no other Godcan save this way.
What would have happened hadthey not been in the fire?
What would have happened ifthey just went about their life?
What would have happened ifthey would have worshipped this
statue?
(30:34):
Nebuchadnezzar would have neverhad an encounter with the true
God of creation.
What if the miracle doesn't comeuntil you're in the fire?
What if it's not before thediagnosis, before the heartbreak
, before the disappointment, butright in the middle of it?
(30:54):
That's exactly what we see inDaniel 3.
God didn't prevent the furnace.
He showed up inside it.
The miracle wasn't in theavoidance of pain, it was in his
presence during it.
Sometimes we want God to rescueus before the struggle, but
often his greatest work is donewhen we're standing in the heat,
completely dependent on him.
(31:16):
That's where faith is refined.
That's where idols fall away.
That's where we see him mostclearly, not as a distant God
who keeps us from trouble, but afaithful Savior who meets us in
it.
So if you're in the fire rightnow, don't lose heart.
The miracle may not be in theescape.
It may be that you're not alonein the flames.
(31:41):
That rings true in so many partsof our lives, because so often
we find ourselves.
This is why the prosperitygospel when you really break it
down, it doesn't make sense.
Because we talk about how, ifwe have enough faith, everything
is going to be okay and workout in our favor.
And then you and I have to walkthrough life and be broken.
We experience loss, weexperience hurt, we experience
(32:04):
suffering and the way that theyteach the prosperity gospel.
They say it's your fault thatall of this is happening.
But that's not what we see inScripture.
We see a God who is sovereignand even though he knows all
things and things happen he'sstill in it and he's still in it
(32:30):
.
Being able to find God in thefurnace is the hardest thing we
have to do, but it's sometimesthe greatest thing for our faith
.
If God gave me everything thatI wanted every single time I
asked for it, I'd have noresilience, I'd be spoiled, I'd
(32:52):
be a brat.
Suffering is not easy.
I would argue that suffering.
If you go back to the beginning, suffering wasn't part of this.
They didn't have that wasn'tpart of this.
They didn't have that in theGarden of Eden.
Suffering came because sin cameinto the world and it ruined
(33:14):
everything.
But God responded to thatbrokenness and sent Jesus to die
.
He healed that, he fixed theproblem.
It doesn't mean it happens here.
Sometimes we don't get it untilthe next life.
Sometimes we don't experiencethe relief, we don't experience
(33:37):
the healing, we don't experiencethe answer.
But if we live in Christ, ifwe've accepted Christ, if we've
made the decision to follow him,we can rest assured that what's
coming next is what matters,because at the end of this world
, all of my suffering and yoursuffering will go away.
So when people ask me thequestion how do you reconcile
(34:00):
suffering in a world like thisand you're talking about how
good your God is, and my answeris probably pretty simple I
didn't.
I didn't reconcile anything.
God did.
God saw all of the brokenness,all of the sin, everything that
(34:21):
was going on in the world and hesent Himself as His Son to die.
He took it all, all of the pain, all of the misery, all of the
suffering, so that you and I canbe raised to life with him when
it's all over.
I don't have an easy answer forwhy you and I might go through
things, but I can say that arelationship with Jesus makes it
(34:48):
a whole lot easier.
That peace and knowing so theoutcome of Daniel 3 is truly
worth celebrating.
God showed up in the fire,delivered his people and
revealed his glory to the world.
But we also have to acknowledgethat it doesn't always end that
(35:10):
way.
Sometimes, despite our faith,the fire still burns, the
healing doesn't come, the doordoesn't open, the miracle
doesn't happen the way we hadhoped.
And yet the power of this storyisn't just in the rescue, it's
in the resolve, it's in thefaith that says, even if he does
(35:33):
not.
And they still refuse to bow.
That kind of faith God honors,not because it's guaranteed
deliverance, but because itclings to him above all else.
So, yes, celebrate the victory,but also learn to worship in
the uncertainty, knowing that,whether he delivers us from the
fire or walks with us through it.
Our God is still good and he isalways enough.
(35:57):
That's right.
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