Fiery Furnace Faith

When I grow up, I want to be like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego...

So, what do I mean by that? I want to be the kind of person who has a RADICAL faith in God - a faith that stands even when the circumstances look bad, a faith that believes without a doubt that my God is able to "do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine". (Eph 3:20)

That's what the Word says, right? But deep down inside ourselves, do we really believe that?

In Daniel 3, Rack, Shack, and Benny (we'll use their VeggieTale nicknames for short) were up against overwhelming circumstances. King Nebuchadnezzar had made a 90ft tall gold statue and ordered that everyone bow down and worship it when certain music played. Rack, Shack, and Benny served the living God and there was no way they were going to bow down to a statue. However, some astrologers who worked for the king noticed this and told King Neb, who got really ticked off. He called Rack, Shack, and Benny before him and confronted them. He said,

"I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” (Dan. 3:15)

Rack, Shack, and Benny could have taken the easy way out at this point. They could have listened to what the king said and doubted that God would really be able to save them. They could have rationalized among themselves that it would be okay to bow down just this once. God would forgive them, right?

But, this is the part I love and the reason why I want to grow up to be like these guys. When faced with something that seemed like an impossible situation, this is what they said,

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. ¹⁸ But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” (Dan. 3:16-18)

Whoa! Now THAT is radical faith!

I believe that in those 4 sentences are the keys to radical, life-changing, world-shaking faith! Let's look at them individually.

1. God is the authority, not our circumstances!

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you." (vs. 16)

This was a pretty audacious thing to say to the king! But Rack, Shack, and Benny recognized that even though King Neb was the most powerful man in the world, he was nothing compared to the Almighty God. Even though it meant breaking the law, they knew that bowing down to worship the statue would have broken one of God's commandments. They had determined that they would not do that no matter what the consequences. If they needed defending before the law of the land, God was more than capable of doing it for them.

2. God is able to answer our prayers! 

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve IS ABLE to save us." (vs. 17)

They knew without a doubt that their God could save them from the fiery furnace. Rack, Shack, and Benny had seen God's hand at work over and over in their lives. Just one chapter before this one, they had been the prayer team Daniel called on to pray with him to ask God to reveal the king's dream so that the wise men in the kingdom wouldn't be murdered. (Dan. 2) They had witnessed first-hand the miraculous move of God and knew that He could do the same in this situation.

3. God is willing to answer our prayers when they align with His Word! 

"He WILL rescue us from your power, Your Majesty." (vs. 17)

Not only was God able to save them, but Rack, Shack, and Benny believed that He WOULD save them. They knew that they were following God's law by not bowing down to the statue and because of that they felt confident that the Lord would work on their behalf.

4. The outcome should not affect our belief in God.

"But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up. "(vs. 18)

Rack, Shack, and Benny had made up their minds that no matter the outcome, they would not waver from serving God. They knew that God COULD save them. They felt that He WOULD save them. But even if it didn't turn out the way they expected, they would not be unfaithful to the Lord.

You may have heard the saying, "Love is a choice". Even when our feelings don't back it up, we can still make the decision to love. In the same way, faith is also a choice. We can choose to look at the storm that's raging around us or we can choose to believe in the God who can calm the wind and the waves (Mark 4:35-40). We can choose to be overwhelmed by our mountain of bills or we can choose to trust in the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Ps. 50:10). We can choose to listen to what the world is speaking over our life or we can choose to put complete faith in our Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He rejoices over us with singing (Zep. 3:17).

You probably already know the end of the story, but just for kicks, let's take another look. King Neb became furious at Rack, Shack, and Benny's response. He had them bound and ordered the furnace heated to 7x the normal temperature. In fact, it was so hot that the men who threw Rack, Shack, and Benny into the furnace died from the heat!

So King Neb was pretty amazed when he saw not just 3, but 4 men walking around in the flames unbound and unharmed! He exclaimed to his advisers, "And the fourth looks like a god!" (Dan. 3:25) So King Neb called to Rack, Shack, and Benny to come out. The king and all his advisors crowded around the 3 men and then comes my favorite part:

"Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell of smoke!" (Dan. 3:27)

Not only did God save them miraculously from the fiery furnace, but He did it in such a way that the fire didn't even leave a trace on their bodies! If King Neb had not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have been able to tell they had been in the furnace at all!

²⁸ "Then Nebuchadnezzar said, “Praise to the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defied the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. ²⁹ Therefore, I make this decree: If any people, whatever their race or nation or language, speak a word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they will be torn limb from limb, and their houses will be turned into heaps of rubble. There is no other god who can rescue like this!” ³⁰ Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon." (Dan. 3:28-30)

THAT is the God we serve! Not only did He save Rack, Shack, and Benny, but He did it in such a way that got the attention of the king and his entire kingdom! God is calling us to have fiery furnace faith too - faith that can shake the nations and impact the world!

As my husband and I go about the task of raising the funds to support the mission work God has called us to in Italy, there are days when my faith feels more like votive candle faith, instead of fiery furnace faith.

But, I CHOOSE to believe that God is the authority in my situation. We are not hindered by a sluggish economy because my Lord is not limited by the resources of this world.

I KNOW that God is more than able to meet my need because of what His Word says and because I have personally experienced His miraculous provision.

I BELIEVE that He will make a way because I am walking in His will, following His command to go and make disciples.

BUT, even if God doesn't answer my prayer in the time or way that I expect, I will not falter from serving Him. I will trust that He has another way... a better way.

I may not be up against a fiery furnace, but I have determined that no matter the circumstance, I will put my absolute trust in the God that I serve! And I will wait in expectation for what He is going to do!