Refined - Finding Joy in the Midst of the FireSample

When faced with the fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not walk by what they saw in the natural, they weren’t governed by the whims of their culture, and they weren’t afraid of losing their prestigious jobs. Their entire lives were on the line, and yet they chose to stand in faith and keep their eyes focused on the invisible, yet all-powerful God! If a person chose to walk through life with his or her eyes closed, this foolish person would bump into walls, fall down stairs, and suffer from repeated and numerous bruises. As Christians, that is exactly what we are doing when we walk by sight and not by faith. If you choose only to see what you see, you have put on a spiritual blindfold and will go through life banging into situations, falling into Satan’s traps, and sustain repeated battle scars. Open up your eyes and look at Christ and His promises! We must view every life event, every difficult person, and every fiery furnace through our faith and through God’s authority. Unbelievers only see what they see; believers see what God sees! Because Nebuchadnezzar was unable to wisely respond to the convictions of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, he ordered the already searing fire to be heated seven times hotter than it already was. A normal log fire burns at an average of 450 degrees Fahrenheit; the fire of this angry king’s making was raging at nearly 3,150 degrees when the Hebrew boys were thrown into it. When you determine to take a stand in faith and refuse to give in or give up when the fires of life are blazing, you’ll make your enemy very, very angry indeed. Things may heat up for you before you see the hand of God move on your behalf. But never assess the power or goodness of your God by the heat of your fire. The time that passes between the utterance of your prayer and when His answer is delivered is called “the testing of your faith.” Most people tend to give up when they pray and then nothing happens. Most people become negative, fearful, or bitter when the temperature of their fire is multiplied by seven. However, it is vital that you remember that the goodness and power of your God is unaffected by the temperature of the fire.