22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They replied, "Certainly, O king."
So this is intense, we see that the soldiers who were bringing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the furnace who were the strongest soldiers of king Nebuchadnezzar(v.20) died from the heat as they brought Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to the furnace. What amazes me is how these three were so stable, and faithful to Jesus until the end they were unshaken in their faith. So then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fall into the furnace.
I want to stop right there for the discussion of this blog tonight.
What sticks out to me, and what the LORD was just showing me earlier is just that sometimes we are brought to the fire. The place of persecution/pain/not fun-ness, sometimes the enemy pulls us down in boredom, and he discourages us, and we are just brought to this place where it is just hard to stand.
Sometimes we are so close to the fire though it is easy to trip, and fall in, because we sometimes play with fire.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were trusting in the LORD through this all, they were completely humble, and they were seeking the LORD's will above everything, and they knew that with Jesus there is no turning back. You are either with Him, or against Him, and they knew that no matter what they were with Him.
Even though later, which I will talk about in the next couple of days, they were saved from the fire, they had no idea if Jesus was going to save them, and I am sure they felt the burn in their flesh about what was coming, but they were confident that no matter how hot the fire would be that going through some temporary flame is not enough to separate them from the LORD.
Today I want to encourage you, if right now you are in a season of going through the fire, and being pushed into the furnace by the attacks of the enemy I want to encourage you to persevere, and that the LORD is always with us. No matter what we walk through, no matter what we have done, He is always our Strong Tower, and He is here for us. When we take refuge in Him, we see more and more that our pain is so small to the pain in His heart to know us! His bride.
So be blessed and encouraged, and take heart through the fire, through persecution in whatever way it may be whether it is from God, or from man.
---Intercession---
Father please strengthen us, and help us to persevere when its hard, and to stay focused when it may be 'easy'. God I thank you for your goodness, and ask that you would just remind us to take refuge in you continually. We love you, in Jesus' Name. Amen.
Be Blessed.
Kasey
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