UCB READING
'Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...' Daniel 3:30
The story of the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace makes us realise four things: 1) Obeying God doesn't exempt you from trouble. Don't expect the world to always understand or appreciate you. Look at Christ: 'In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it' (John 1:4-5 NIV) 2) You're not alone; God is with you in your trouble. When King Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fiery furnace he said, '...I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God' (Daniel 3:25). Instead of destroying them, the fire burned the ropes that bound them and set them free. So be encouraged. It may feel like you're 'bound by circumstances,' limited and locked in, but God is with you; He's going to vindicate you and bring you out of this victorious 3) Your trouble will become your testimony. Others are watching. What they're trusting in doesn't work, and they're wondering if what you're trusting in does. Your faithfulness to God and His intervention on your behalf will touch their lives in ways your theology never will. Everybody in Babylon knew what the three Hebrew children believed, but they wanted to know, 'Does it work when you're in the fire?' It does! 4) On the other side of your trouble, there's great blessing. 'Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.' It's a Scriptural principle: when you are faithful in a hard place, God can trust you in a high place.