DEVO. 10.23.24
“He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” (Daniel 3:25 NIV)
- Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego had enraged the king because they refused to bow to the image he had made.
- They trusted and obeyed God, regardless of the consequences.
- Regardless of what everyone else was saying and doing.
- Regardless of the outcome.
- The king ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter and then they “were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace.” (V.21)
- What’s interesting to me is that the fourth man doesn’t appear until after they are already in the fire.
- They didn’t see Him in the fire, first, and then decide to trust God because they knew He would be there with them.
- They had faith in Him without any evidence that He would protect them.
- Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”
- They showed complete faith in their God who Delivers, rescues and saves his people who have faith in Him and in His name.
- Their 3 Hebrew names even correspond to the deliverance that God gave them.
- Hananiah’s name means, “The Lord shows grace”
- Azariah’s name means “The Lord is my Helper”
- And Mishael’s name means “who is equal to God” which is what the form of the fourth man appeared to be.
- Just like the prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 1:5, ““Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”
- God knew these 3 Hebrew men and gave them names which would speak of the deliverance that they would receive even before they were born.
- He had equipped them in advance! The evidence was always in their God given names regardless of what the world named them.
- How about you?
- Where do you need to trust God Today?
- With all of life’s uncertainties, today, how about trusting in the God who has shaped you and formed you for “such a time like this”? (Esther 4:14)
- Today is a great day to place your trust in the Lord!
- Don’t fear the Fire. Instead let the fear of the Lord live in you.
- He’s the one who will be in the fire with you.
- But you will never stand with the one in the fire with you if you are unwilling to take a stand!
- Have a great Wednesday!
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