FAITH IN THE FURNACE

Have you ever been through something that really made you the person you are today? Have you ever experienced a situation that made you stand back and wonder how you ever conquered it? The chances are that you’ve said yes to both those questions! If not, you’ve either lived a sheltered and reclusive existence or you’re dead!

I read this cool story the other day about these three courageous Christians called Radshach, Meshach and Abendego (Daniel 3). These were three guys who loved to have a drink down the local and hung out with the likes of Daniel. These guys were the original 'Three Amigos’ - but with faith! They served King Nebucanezzar who, because he was a power freak, ordered his Kingdom to worship no other God but him. They refused and King Neddy flipped! Their punishment for disobedience was death. Nebucanezzar forced them into a massive furnace and turned the heat up 3 times higher than normal… This guy was mad! You’d think that they were done for and, they probably did too...

Often life can be out of our control, and we can be suddenly thrust into situations where the heat is turned up. Even as Christians, we can let that get to us. But we have a duty to show the way, set the example, and display our faith through tough situations! Naturally people will watch how you handle certain things to see if you’re faith is genuine or not. People watch for three things:

1. HOW YOU ENTER THE FURNACE
Faith is like muscle, you’ve to got exercise it to get stronger and healthier! So when those times come when you’re being stretched, hold onto Jesus and you’ll see faith you’re faith expand and grow! We’ve got to have the faith of Radshach, Meshach and Abendego; strong enough to walk into something they know is going to stretch them and potentially harm them. Faith that stares at failure and sees victory.  

2. YOUR FAITH IN THE FURNACE
When King Neddy looked into the furnace he didn’t just see three guys, he saw four! Who was the forth? The Bible tells us it was God’s angel sent to protect them. God will always provide shelter and protection to those who follow Him. Ye it might stretch you and might sting a little but that’s what causes your faith to grow! When you decide to take on challenges with the faith in our God, people won’t just see you in the furnace; they’ll see God helping you through it. They start to ask questions like: How can she keep going like that? Why is he still smiling whilst this is happening? Your faith in the furnace causes people to see the greater power that works through you.

3. HOW YOU LEAVE IT
The funny thing was that after King Neddy saw the angel in there he opened the furnace door and out walked Radshach, Meshach and Abendego without a single hair singed! In vs. 27 it says ‘They didn’t even smell like smoke’. Bad situations can either singe someone or refine someone. How you walk out of a furnace show the strength of your faith. How empowering it is to watch someone conquer their afflictions or complete the impossible! Everyone loves the underdog because it activates something inside of us to reach for the same. How you leave the furnace determines how you’ll enter another.  

Never forget that God will always protect you from disaster; Furnaces are a great chance to build your faith and people will see God in you by how you handle them when they come. You are more than capable of handling anything that comes your way because you have Jesus Christ living with you… and we can all trust that guy! If you don’t believe me by now, you should read Psalm 145 it’s really great.

Thanks for reading my blog, hope it helped.

Ben.