THE CROSS AND THE
CRUCIBLE
By Pastor Timothy Burdick
Today, please look
at Daniel Chapter 3, Verses 24-25 with me: “Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in
amazement and asked his advisers, 'Weren't
there three men that we tied up and threw
into the fire?' They replied, 'Certainly, O
king.' 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.'”
Does this Scripture
sound remote to you? Think about the passage
with me. If you read the chapter carefully,
you'll notice that while the smell of fire
wasn’t found on these men and their bodies
were unharmed, the text does not suggest
that they had no feelings about it. Get
real! It was a blazing fire that was heated
seven times hotter than normal. Now, how
about you? Do you feel like you have obeyed
Christ only to be thrown into the fire? Then
does it feel like the fire is being heated
up? If so, don’t give up.
While you may be
going through a hard time, I believe that
God had you read this to strengthen and
encourage you. I want you to notice
something. These three men who were thrown
in to the midst of the fire were bound. Do
you feel bound by your troubles? If so, read
on. For if you feel bound and fear you will
never get out of that fire, I want to say in
a loving way: stop looking to your own
resources, but rather look to the God who
delivered these men when they were still in
the fire. He will deliver you, too. But
affirming this truth does not suggest how
the deliverance will take place.
Even though I don’t
know how God will work for you in the fire
of your life, I can say that He will do it
with certainty. Look again at this text:
While the Hebrews were still in the fire
they were unbound and a Fourth Man came
alongside of them. So let God speak to you
and touch you today. Even while you still
feel bound in the middle of the fire, will
you let Him walk with you in the midst of
your troubles? Will you let Him loose
you from them?
While fire is never
a pleasant experience, God can use it in
your life to strengthen you. So, let Him do
His work of loosing you today in its midst
while you remain faithful. Remember that the
Fourth Man walks with you through the fiery
times of your life. He has given me strength
to do this and it will be so in your life as
well.
Visit Pastor Timothy at New Vision Ministries website www.mynvm.org
Visit Friday Study Ministries
www.FridayStudy.org
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