9-25-20
Grace In The Fire
This morning I was reminded of when Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego were cast into a fire for not conforming to the king’s standards and
commands. There is a whole different
lesson here, but I want to focus on the fact of the choice God made and allowed
to happen in this situation. Instead of
removing them from the fire, or removing the fire from them, He joined them in
the fire. There are probably several
reasons for this account. He was strengthening
their character in difficult times. He was
using this to display his miraculous power.
He was also using it to show his grace and his presence with them
through what could have been the most difficult circumstance they had endured
in their life. This is the concept that
led me to further delve into God really trying to help me in the understanding
of his grace.
Maybe we have not really been placed in the fire, but we
have been forced to stand at the fire’s edge and face the fire. We feel the heat. We feel the resistance to step and turn away,
or back far enough away to not feel its intense effects. Maybe we feel like we are actually in a fire
with no way out or in a place where we see the fire burning around us and we may
feel trapped and wonder if we too, will be found in the fire. There are truly so many ways or circumstances
that can leave us feeling the burn or the heat of the fire.
In Daniel 3 when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego were in
the fire, they were found to not be found in the fire alone. They were found to no longer being bound by
evil intentions. They were found to be
free and walking around. They were found
to be accompanied by no other than God himself.
They knew the God they served.
They knew he was with them. They
knew of his power. God didn’t remove the
fire, or remove them from the fire, He joined them in the fire. Think about this again, from a point of
grace.
Pausing to look more into the definition/s of grace from dictionary.com:
noun
elegance or beauty of form, manner,
motion, or action:
a pleasing or attractive quality or
endowment:
favor or goodwill.
a manifestation of favor,
especially by a superior:
mercy; clemency; pardon:
favor shown in granting a delay or
temporary immunity.
an allowance of time after a debt
or bill has become payable granted to the debtor before suit can be brought
against him or her or a penalty applied:
Theology.
the freely given, unmerited favor
and love of God.
the influence or spirit of God
operating in humans to regenerate or strengthen them.
a virtue or excellence of divine
origin:
Also called state of grace. the
condition of being in God's favor or one of the elect.
moral strength:
verb (used with object), graced,
grac·ing.
to lend or add grace to; adorn:
to favor or honor:
to grace an occasion with one's
presence.
I want to pause and just think about how many but different
ways we see grace in this fire encounter.
- God saw the beauty of the situation
- God saw the beauty and favor of the three men and their obedience
- He favored them but also chose to join them
- He granted mercy, by freeing them and protecting them in the fire
- He displayed his unmerited love not only to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, but also to the king
- His presence and influence strengthened who the men were in him. The fire experience took them to a higher level of God’s excellence in their life. Excellence is not perfection but reaching an improvement of character and favor.
- His presence showed how much he adored, favored, and loved them.
- His presence, favor, and love not only was with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego but also with the king. He showed mercy and favor that the king did not deserve. There was no level or time to find a level of perfection in hopes to earn God’s favor. It was used to bring him to acknowledgment and repentance.
After thinking about these thoughts, I was taken to a verse God
has been keeping at the front of my mind, but this time to show me something
different. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (familiar
verse) says, Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” I am quite sure, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abed-Nego might have had weak knees. They
made a choice not to let their feelings and weakness of feelings to change what
they chose to believe in who they knew God was.
God was making them stronger in the fire. They had a confidence and gift of faith in
the God they served. They chose to face
with boldness, courage, and strength.
They did not let fear, or doubt whether God would deliver them change their
belief in the God, they served (no matter if it did possibly give them weak knees
so to say). God strengthened them in the
fire to prepare them for their next assignment.
God’s grace was all they needed. In
probably trembling knees they waited on God.
He renewed their strength to a level of excellence. They mounted up walking in and out of the
fire freely and unburned or smoked. (Isaiah
40:31).
I have recently been finding myself facing the edge of the
fire while dealing with some health flare-ups/ relapses. Wrestling with feeling defeated and discouraged
while standing at the fire’s edge. There
have been days I was unable to do anything within my own strength. I would see my day as being wasted and
consumed by the smoke and fog in my brain.
There was nothing I could do in those moments to try to earn God’s grace
or favor. He says in Ephesians 2:8 God
saved you by his grace when we believed (not felt). And you can’t take credit for this; it is a
gift from God. My ability to accomplish things
or have desired perfection in my thoughts could not and would not change how
much God’s adored thoughts toward me. On
my worst days, he says look at my child with who I am very pleased with. He was saying that in Matthew 3 about Jesus. However, when we make the choice to become part
of his family, we too are his children and he is very pleased with us. On our days, when disappointment, discouragement,
frustration, all set in He looks down and says how much favor and adoration he
has for us. It is in our weakest
moments, that if we just pause and just choose to pick up our head with
confidence we can see and receive mercy and grace in our struggles and
fire. The king could not help but see
the confidence God gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego and he too received
God’s mercy and grace. Trust in the Lord. Find your strength in him (even in the fire). He is preparing you for your next assignment
to excellence and soaring high like eagles with him. He wants us to pick up our head and see him
in the fire with us because his presence never leaves nor forsakes and
abandons us. (Is 40:31) He says I have
all you need, and my favor, love, and adoration are upon you. Be strong through the grace that God gives you in
Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 2:1
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