This is a cross post from what I posted on our church women’s blog but I thought I’d get the extra mileage out of it. I’m in the midst of Beth Moore’s Daniel study which is awesome. These are some insights from week 2.
If you grew up in church, you are probably very familiar
with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and the fiery furnace. There
were tons on interesting points Beth made, but the biggest area was in relating
the story to our own personal “fiery trials”. She outlined 3 scenarios.
Scenario A: We
can be delivered from the fire. Dividend? Our faith is built. (Although
sometimes we later forget and tend to chalk the deliverance up to luck or
coincidence.)
Scenario B: We
can be delivered through the fire. Dividend? Our faith is refined.
NOTE: We will never escape trials entirely
Jn 11:4 (Lazarus
death) When he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in
death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through
it."
1 Peter 1:6-7 In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all
kinds of trials. 7These have come so that your faith—of
greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be
proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ
is revealed.
Scenario C: We can be delivered
by the fire into His arms. Dividend? Our faith is perfected. This should be
the scenario that we all desire. The fact that we want often want to stay here
on earth is because of our complete inability to grasp what awaits us in
heaven.
Heb 12:1-2 Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off
everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run
with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2Let us
fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy
set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God.
James 1:12 Blessed is
the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will
receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
We will all face trials in our lifetime, some big, some
small. When God does not choose to deliver us altogether from those trials and
we must walk through the fire, we can rest assured that God is with us. Isaiah 43:1-3
1 But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
2 When
you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
3 For I
am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of
Israel, your Savior;
As we know the story well, God chose to deliver those 3 men
from the fiery furnace.
Stay Tuned for More…
What a great post! There’s a lot to chew on there!! thanks for sharing