“Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” 1 Peter 1:6–8 When Nebuchadnezzar raised his giant idol and commanded everyone in Babylon to bow down to it, there were three Hebrew young men, brought as captives from Israel, who refused to go along with the crowd. Even when they were offered a second chance to reconsider, they remained loyal to the God of Israel. As a result, they were thrown into a furnace heated far beyond its normal limits—so hot that the soldiers who threw them in were killed by the heat. Despite the intensity of the fire, no harm came to the three faithful servants of God, and they received an unexpected benefit. As Nebuchadnezzar watched, he was astonished because not only were his prisoners not killed, they had been joined by Someone else: “He answered and said, Lo, 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). We will never endure a trial alone. We may go through great difficulty and hardship, but God will always be there with us in the middle of the fire. The only way that trials can defeat us is if we allow them to do so. The same Christ who endured the penalty of our sin on the cross, going through a more severe trial than anything we will ever face, is always with us. Today’s Renewal Principle: In our most trying moments, the presence of God is an unfailing source of joy.
Posted on: Fri, 05 Sep 2014 14:55:55 +0000
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