"Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed.

He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army

to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,

and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace."

-Daniel 3:19-23 (NIV)

​

We've been discussing Paul's instruction that we be "joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12, NIV). And while Paul's instruction is sound doctrine and is indeed encouraging, oh the woes of our ability to carry out these instructions when life bombards us with all the things that we don't want, don't think we need, and don't have the strength, tolerance, or faith to confront with a peace and assurance that God makes all things well. These instructions of Paul are encouraging until something comes along that steals our joy, depletes us of our patience, and makes us become so "in our feelings", that we don't even want to pray.

 

Some of us may be joyful in hope but as impatient as can be because although we trust that God is going to do it, we want Him to hurry up and act upon it. Many of us might be patient in affliction but are so worn out that we don't have the strength to continue praying our way through. There are some who are patiently enduring the trial and waiting on God to change the situation but might at some point become burdened and began to sink into those emotions that make us feel far from joyful. There is a reason that Paul encourages the three. They all work hand in hand. However, it can be quite challenging to simultaneously put them all to work amidst our circumstances.

 

When we wind up in situations or face circumstances that make us feel trapped and bound, we at times struggle to grasp why is it that God is allowing such strong force and extreme heat to be placed upon us. It quite often feels like punishment more than anything else. But if we can but understand that sometimes the weight, binding, and extreme heat is simply God's way of saying, "LET ME SHOW YOU WHO I AM AND WHAT I CAN DO"! Therefore, WE MUST BE PATIENT AS WE ENDURE!

Let's Explore! 

​

---------All Tied Up------------                                  

​

We quite often discuss those mighty Hebrew Boys because their story is so profound and speaks to why we should all remain in complete awe of who God is and what He can do. The stories of those pillars of the bible such as the Hebrew Boys, Daniel, Moses, Joseph, David, Job, Abraham, Jesus, and many many more, have discoveries and revelations that have no end. No matter how much we explore and expound on the stories in the bible, which are REAL LIFE ACCOUNTS (we must not forget that), there is always something new to learn and be encouraged by.

 

The Hebrew Boys were favored by Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel had interpreted a dream for Nebuchadnezzar that relieved and delighted him so much so that scripture states:

 

               Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and

               incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings

               and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.” Then the king placed Daniel in a high position                     and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of

               all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators                   over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court (Daniel 2:46-49, NIV).

 

It was important that we review this passage because it shows us that Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel. He also honored the Hebrew Boys. Most importantly, Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God as the God of all gods, the Lord of all kings, and a revealer of mysteries. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged Daniel's God (who was also Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's God), as being above all others. Nebuchadnezzar was amazed at the power of God. And because of the hands of God that were on Daniel and the Hebrew Boys, Nebuchadnezzar placed Daniel as ruler over Babylon and all the wise men. And by the request of Daniel, Nebuchadnezzar placed the Hebrew Boys as administrators over the province of Babylon. However, this same Nebuchadnezzar who honored the God of Daniel and the Hebrew Boys is the same Nebuchadnezzar who becomes upset when the Hebrew Boys refuse to bow to and worship his golden image. This same Nebuchadnezzar that proclaimed the awe of God in Daniel 2:47, is the same Nebuchadnezzar that in Daniel 3:15 states:

 

"Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?” (NIV).

 

Oh the Nebuchadnezzar in all of us. How we believe in the power of God and have such awe for what He does when it benefits us, appeases our fleshly desires, and relieves us of those things that trouble us, but when we are faced with something that challenges our flesh, how we so easily forget the power of the same God that we proclaimed was above all and could do all things.

 

Nebuchadnezzar praised God for being the God of all gods and the Lord of all kings but when the Hebrew Boys did not bow to his command, he asked them what god would be able to rescue them from his hands. Hmmm...was Nebuchadnezzar under the false impression that God had the power to work through Daniel giving him the interpretation of his dreams and revealing to him the future that lied ahead but did not have the power to rescue Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from his hands.

 

Furthermore, if Nebuchadnezzar knew that God had the power to know and understand the future and was a revealer of mysteries, did he not think that God also knew what lied ahead for the Hebrew Boys and already had a plan in place to keep them protected. Was Nebuchadnezzar not referring to himself when he acknowledged God as the Lord of all kings? As a king himself, did that not mean that God was also Lord over him regardless of whom he served? Or was Nebuchadnezzar simply momentarily blinded by his ego tripping? 

 

Scripture tells us that Nebuchadnezzar's attitude toward the Hebrew Boys changed. And how often does our attitude towards God change when He refuses to bow to what we want, when we want it, and how we want Him to give it to us. How easily some of our attitudes change toward God when we refuse to worship Him and so He therefore allows us to be placed into a 'hot' situation. How easily our attitudes toward God change when He refuses to defend Himself by telling us the whys behind what He did or didn't do. How easily our attitudes toward God change when He rebukes our idolization of all those things that we serve, worship, and place above Him. Here's what Nebuchadnezzar should have understood and what we must make sure that we too understand, even when our attitude towards God changes, IT DOES NOT CHANGE WHO GOD IS NOR DOES IT CHANGE HIS POWER, AUTHORITY, OR MIGHT! Our change in attitude does not change the works of God's hands although it can impact if we are benefactors of the works of His hands or if we are punished by the works of His hands. Are we working for God and with God? Or are we working apart from Him and against Him? For many of us, there is an in-between. For many of us we are one foot in and one foot out. But in God's eyes you are either a sheep or a goat (Matthew 25:31-33).

 

The Hebrew Boys were innocent. They had done no wrong. They chose to stand firm in their honor and reverence for God. And this is perhaps why this trial was placed upon them. God needed His power to be manifested. God wanted His glory to be shown. Therefore, God had to use somebody that He knew would stand on His word so that He could then deliver them out of what He allowed them to be placed in making known to those who didn't believe, struggled to believe, or simply needed a reminder, that HE IS A GOD OF NO LIMITS!

 

----------Bound and Unbound by Faith--------------------------------

 

The story of Job is one of the few stories in the bible in which God explicitly reveals the narrative of how He initiated the testing of someone's faith. We know that throughout scripture there are many who God tested in various ways, but Job's story is the only one of such facet in which God actually allows us to see how He had this conversation with satan and personally calls Job's name out. It is in the story of Job unlike many of the others that God also explicitly shares with us the limits He placed on what He allowed satan to inflict upon Job. Apart from Jesus being tested in the wilderness, Job's story is the only other one where this face-to-face narrative between God and satan occurs. Although that be the case, we still know that it was God that chose the Hebrew Boys to be the ones to face this fiery furnace regardless of how He initiated it. The scriptures don't have to tell us directly that the fiery furnace was a test for the Hebrew Boys. However, we know that God both chose and were testing them. Really consider the following facts:

 

• The Hebrew Boys were innocent

• Nebuchadnezzar favored them

• Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God as being above all

• Nebuchadnezzar had the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than normal

• Nebuchadnezzar used his strongest soldiers to tie the Hebrew Boys up and throw them into the fire

• The Hebrew Boys were wearing robes, trousers, turbans, AND OTHER CLOTHES when thrown into the fire

 

This all means that the innocent Hebrew Boys, who were favored by Nebuchadnezzar, were thrown into the fire by his order, being bound and wearing a whole fall collection of clothing. And thus reads Daniel 3:24-25:

 

"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, Your Majesty.' 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" (NIV).

 

Let's really reflect on all of those bulleted points above. WE KNOW THAT GOD HAD A PLAN! God literally intensified everything about what the Hebrew Boys were facing. He allowed them to go from being admired by Nebuchadnezzar to being threatened by him. He allowed the furnace to be accelerated seven times its norm. He then allowed the boys to be bound, have on a closet full of clothes, and be thrown into the fire. Now let's reflect on Daniel 3:26-27: 

 

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, 'Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!' So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them. (NIV)

 

"SO SHADRACH, MESHACH, AND ABEDNEGO CAME OUT OF THE FIRE"! No one could go in to get them, but they came out. But wait, WERE THEY NOT BOUND?! Nebuchadnezzar went through every restraint that he could think of to make sure that these boys could not escape the fire that he was ordering them to be put into. YET, HE IS THE ONE WHO CALLED THEM OUT OF IT! Most importantly, he stated, "servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" Though Nebuchadnezzar knew that he had bound the Hebrew Boys, he called them to come out with an assurance and expectation that they would, because he recognized God's power. Let's stop right here and reflect on something. 

​

In a sense we can consider Nebuchadnezzar an enemy of the Hebrew Boys prior to this point starting at their refusal to bow. However, in seeing what God did, Nebuchadnezzar called them out of what he put them in knowing that they had the ability to come out of it because (1) he recognized that they were walking around, (2) he recognized that they were unbound, (3) he recognized that they were unharmed, and (4) he recognized that they were not alone. And the Hebrew Boys came out. 

 

How often do we remain both bound and confused because while our enemies are fully aware of what God can do, we are stuck in the fire pondering on "if God?" and "will God?" do it and still confused about "WHY US?" Many of our enemies might already know or may at some point discover that God is more than capable of delivering us. However, they don't hesitate to attack us because they also recognize that there is the possibility that we ourselves don't have the faith and assurance in what 
God can do. So, they attack us knowing that we might just turn away from God or not believe in Him enough to walk out when He makes way for us to do so. Many of our enemies know that unlike Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we won't be walking around in the fire, but we will be at the entrance of the furnace still pleading for God to let us out. And the minute that they see us falling victim instead of standing victorious, they will play into our lack of hope, our lack of patience, and our lack of trust in God thus causing us to help them keep us bound.

 

What caught Nebuchadnezzar's attention was the fact the Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were walking around when they were supposed to be bound. When our enemies attack, if we are able to place our full trust in God, we will gain the ability to be joyful in hope, therefore causing us to be patient in affliction, which will allow us to walk amidst what our enemies thought would bring us to our knees. Nebuchadnezzar could not get the Hebrew Boys to bow to him nor his golden image so he perhaps thought that binding them and intensifying the heat would put them in a bowing position. BUT THEY STILL STOOD BECAUSE THEY FULLY TRUSTED GOD!

 

God will allow things to bind us so that He can unravel the wicked plots, intents, and plans of our enemies. At times, God will allow us to be bound so that He can unravel the nerves, joy, patience, and confidence of the people that think that the children of God are ones to be toyed with. There are times in which God has to bind us in order to cut loose on our enemies. At times God will put as much weight and force upon as He sees fit so that everyone who witnesses what we endure will know that it was Him who brought us out. Far too many people don't believe in God and credit miracles and most other occurrences to science, amongst other things, but God always has a gut punch for all the non-believers and nay-sayers. God always has a mouth drop for all those who think that our stories will end in defeat.

 

It was God and God alone who allowed the Hebrew Boys to have on as many clothes as they possibly could so that everyone involved could see just how fireproof his servants were. Nebuchadnezzar thought that the weight of their clothing (the flammability of their clothing) would cause them more torture, and God allowed it. We cannot be turned aside due to the weight of the attack, because it is God who allows it and He remains in control. The Hebrew Boys were wearing robes, trousers, turbans, and other clothes that we know in the natural would have set them ablaze. God put them on as much flammable material as possible, intensified the heat, allowed the men who took them into the fire to come to their own demise, and Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were walking around in the fire, walked out of the fire, and had NOT ONE BURN! THEY WERE NOT HARMED AND THEY DID NOT SMELL LIKE SMOKE! Not even firefighters can come out of a fire that flawless. Consider all of the gear that firefighters have to wear in order to approach and be protected from a fire. Consider all of the rigorous training and conditioning that firefighters have to endure in order to be able to approach a fire. Consider all of the equipment that firefighters use whether vehicle, hose, or other rescue tools. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had no earthly protective gear. They had no fire truck. They had no hose. They had no rescue tools. THEY ONLY HAD THEIR FAITH AND THEIR GOD, and that was all that they needed. IT WAS THEIR FAITH THAT SOUNDED THE ALARM AND CAUSED GOD TO WALK THEM OUT OF WHAT HE ALLOWED THEM TO BE PLACED IN!

 

If we really sit and reflect on firefighters and what their job entails and then consider how the Hebrew Boys survived a fiery furnace, DOES THAT NOT SPEAK TO THE AWE OF GOD. IS THAT NOT AN INDICATION OF THE POWER OF FAITH?! IS THAT NOT AN INDICATION AS TO HOW INDESTRUCTIBLE GOD IS! The Hebrew Boys trusted God and He delivered.

 

----------------Falling Prostrate---------------------------------    

 

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all."

-Psalm 34:19 (KJV)

​

 

Let's define Affliction. Affliction is defined as:

• a cause of persistent pain or distress,

• a state of pain, distress, or grief; misery,

• pain and difficulty or something that causes it, 

• [something that] makes you suffer, but you have to deal with it anyway.

 

In other words, affliction can be seen as anything that causes pain, suffering, distress, or difficulty. Affliction can also be a state of being in pain, distress, or experiencing difficulty, grief, or misery. Sicknesses, illnesses, and diseases can also be termed as afflictions. In other words, every trial, setback, challenge, fire, pit, and lions' den, can be termed an affliction. Every negative experience can be seen as an affliction.

 

"If I am guilty—woe to me! Even if I am innocent, I cannot lift my head, for I am full of shame and drowned in my affliction."

-Job 10:15 (NIV)

Job in having lost his children, having everything taken from him, and being looked down upon by his very own wife and friends, considered himself afflicted.

 

"I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”

 -Ruth 1:21 (NIV)
Naomi, after losing her husband and both her sons considered herself afflicted.

"I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul."

-Psalm 31:7 (NIV)

David, in being under attack by his enemies, considered himself to have been in a state of affliction.

"And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;"

-Exodus 3:7 (KJV)
God considered the Israelites in their bondage to be in a state of affliction.

"For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you."

-2 Corinthians 2:4 (KJV)

Paul in all his suffering as he spread the gospel of Christ and experienced physical attack, being jailed, rejected, and persecuted, considered his sufferings an affliction.

 

Job, Naomi, David, the Israelites, the Apostle Paul, Daniel, the Hebrew Boys, and all of the pillars of the bible suffered some type of affliction. All of the above scriptures speak to affliction, yet all of their situations are completely different. We too, will experience some type of affliction to some degree and within some context.

​

"Some became fools through their rebellious ways and suffered affliction because of their iniquities." -Psalm 107:17 (NIV)

 

Whether saint or sinner, AFFLICTION IS INEVITABLE! God will allow affliction to be inflicted upon those who follow Him and God will place affliction on those who don't follow Him. The difference is that He delivers those who follow Him. If we reflect back on the definitions of affliction, the last definition which is highlighted, defines an affliction as "something that makes you suffer but you have to deal with it anyway". That is a very raw and in your face definition, but it is indeed true and stresses the fact that at times, we are simply going to have to deal with it! So, what do we do?...

 

...We fall prostrate!

​

 

Prostrate is defined as:

• lying with the face down and arms stretched out, especially as a sign of respect or worship,

• to lie face-downward in submission or despair,

• to lie on your front with your face looking downwards, especially as a way of showing respect for God or a god.

If we gravitate back to the beginning of our discussion on Nebuchadnezzar's awe of Daniel's ability to interpret his dream, the dream that no one else could interpret, scripture states that, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him" (Daniel 2:46, NIV).

 

And thus is both our problem and our solution. Our ability to fall prostrate.

 

In seeing what God could do, Nebuchadnezzar fell and worshipped Daniel. There are far too many of us, that even when we see what God has done for us, we don't fall prostrate. We don't reverence Him. We know what God did for us but we acknowledge it by a sigh of relief partnered with the thought that God is good instead of wholly attaching to what God has done in a way that makes it take root so that when faced with the next challenge, we do not uproot ourselves from what we know and believe God can do. 

 

And even when many of us do fall prostrate and acknowledge and reverence God concerning one circumstance, in our anguish, disappointment, discomfort, sorrow, and irritability, we too forget what God has previously done for us. We choose to look away from God when placed in front of something that we don't want to see. Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate in awe of what God had done and as mesmerized, astonished, and grateful as he was, none of that mattered at the point in which the Hebrew Boys would not bow. 

 

Although Nebuchadnezzar reverenced what God had done, he still worshipped other gods. Therefore, his reverence for God was dependent on where he was, what he needed, and which of his fleshly desires needed to be appeased. And that brings us to this very important question...Are we truly and wholeheartedly reverencing and serving God or are we simply looking to be serviced and amazed by Him? Nebuchadnezzar was amazed by what God had done by revealing the mystery of his dreams to him, but Nebuchadnezzar placed God's name on high declaring that He was above all and then went on and built a golden image for people to worship. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged God as being above all yet still served and worshipped gods that he knew were beneath God. Reflect on that...How many of us reverence God, recognize His power, but move forward continuing to depend on and look to everything and everyone else to be our source, our guide, and our refuge? And many of us do this knowing that God is the only one who has all the power.

 

David had a real reverence for God that was non-negotiable. David never forgot nor turned away from his lions and bears experience. It was his same memory of how God had allowed him to defeat lions and bears that allowed him to be able to courageously stand against a giant. Consider 1 Samuel 17:33-37, which in part reads:

 

           Saul replied, 'You are not able to go out against this Philistine and fight him; you are only a young man, and he has

           been a warrior from his youth.' But David said to Saul, 'Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion

           or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth.                   When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this               uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. The Lord who                     rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine... (NIV)

 

Regardless of if a lion, bear, giant, enemy army, or Saul, David had no doubt that God both could and would deliver him, which is why his trust in God did not waver. David did not limit God, nor did he categorize the power of God. In other words, David did not see God allowing him to defeat lions and bears inferior in comparison to being faced by a giant. In David's mind, all he saw was the fact that God gave him the power to kill lions and bears and rescue his father's sheep therefore, this giant was no different. This giant regardless of size did not change what God could do. In David's eyes, nothing was too hard for God.

 

For many of us:

We trust God to keep the lights on when the bill is past due...

but we think that the foreclosure notice is too big to confront with the same trust in God

 

We trust God to help us get the job...

but the belligerent supervisor who is trying to get us fired is too big to confront with the same trust in God

 

We trust God to keep us amidst the diagnosis...

but the surgery is too big to confront with the same trust in God

 

Whether the pit, the fiery furnace, or the lions' den, THEY ALL REQUIRE A COMPLETE TRUST IN GOD! Better yet, why are we constantly categorizing the size of the trial when the power of God DOES NOT CHANGE?! God does not shrink, diminish, or dismantle. Therefore, NEITHER SHOULD OUR FAITH! I know, easier said than acted out!

 

Regardless of what David stood against or what stood against him, he constantly fell prostrate. And not to his circumstances, but David fell prostrate to God. How about you? Will you fall prostrate to God, or will you fall prostrate to the giant that stands before you? Our ability to fall prostrate to the right things amidst affliction helps us to be both confident and patient.

 

The Hebrew Boys had a true reverence for God and a relentless trust in Him that allowed them to both recognize and acknowledge what God could do whether He chose to do it for them or not.

 

Daniel understood that God was able regardless of what control the earthly authorities had. Therefore, his trust did not waver.

 

Think about it, the Hebrew Boys stood firm that God could deliver them, and God still allowed them to be placed into the fire even after they took such a bold and committed stand. Daniel prayed to God when he found out about the decree and God still allowed him to be placed in the lions' den. The Hebrew Boys and Daniel, all stayed in a prostrate position as it concerned their reverence and trust in God. No matter what they faced, they might not have been physically face down, but they were prostrate because they were "RESTING IN" the salvation of God. And thus is what kept them covered. They understood what it meant to abide in God. They were prostrate but they were looking up to the one who resides above.

 

Our problem is that far too often when God does not deliver like we want Him to, expect Him to, or when we "need" Him to, we fall prostrate. But not in reverence to God but we fall face down in our circumstances and place all of our attention and focus on the Nebuchadnezzars and fiery furnaces in our life which is why we remain in the fire under intense heat. Far too many of us are so focused on being in the fire and are prostrate to the situation, that we don't see the angel that God placed in the fire with us, because our heads are down. But if we were to force ourselves to look up and recognize the angel walking in our fire, we can then get up and walk around with the angel, and then walk out of what God has allowed our enemies to place us in. 
 
Psalm 34:19 tells us that we as believers, will have unsurmountable afflictions BUT GOD WILL DELIVER US FROM THEM ALL! Regardless of the translation .."THE ALL" does not change.

​

"Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all." -Psalm 34:19 (KJV)
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all." -Psalm 34:19 (NKJV)
"The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all;" -Psalm 34:19 (NIV)
"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." -Psalm 34:19 (ESV)

​

Regardless of if termed as afflictions or troubles, GOD DELIVERS US FROM THEM ALL!

 

-----------------The Glory of Grief------------------------        ------

​

"Then Nebuchadnezzar said, 'Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego,

who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command

and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God."

-Daniel 3:28, NIV

 

Nebuchadnezzar was angered by the Hebrew Boys' refusal to bow to and worship his golden image and threw them into the fiery furnace because of such. But yet, here it is, Nebuchadnezzar now praising them for remaining loyal to God and not bowing to and worshipping his golden image. As it concerned himself, Nebuchadnezzar saw that God had power. God had allowed Daniel to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dreams and reveal to him what lied in his future. However, although no one could
interpret his dreams, there were many during that time who claimed to have the power to interpret dreams. God did not just want Nebuchadnezzar to be aware that He could do what others also did or claimed to do, but God wanted Nebuchadnezzar to also recognize that He could do the impossible. And God chose to show him this by allowing him to place Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in a position of despair. While many claimed to have the ability to interpret dreams, NO ONE ELSE COULD CLAIM or had the power to rescue someone in the way that God rescued Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. But why was it important that God perform both of these examples of His power? Let's compare these two scriptures:

​

"Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries,

for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

-Daniel 2:46:47 (NIV)

 

"Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against

the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble,

for no other god can save in this way.' Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon."

-Daniel 3:29-30 (NIV)

 

The work that God performed through Daniel in allowing him to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream caused Nebuchadnezzar to recognize and acknowledge God as being above all gods, above all kings, and a revealer of mysteries. In this Nebuchadnezzar also honored Daniel recognizing him as the vessel that God worked through.

 

However, in regard to the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar did not simply reverence God above all gods but Nebuchadnezzar reverenced God as being THE ONLY ONE who could do what He did in rescuing the Hebrew Boys and bringing them out of the fire. All honor was given to God. His reverence was not situated on Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego as vessels but Nebuchadnezzar's full reverence was on the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

 

The interpretation of the dream caused Nebuchadnezzar to recognize God as one who was above all other gods, but the fiery furnace caused him to recognize that God is SET APART and CANNOT BE COMPARED to the other gods. And in order for him to recognize this, the Hebrew Boys had to be placed in a position of affliction. However, their faith and trust in God, caused them to be joyful in the hope of God with a full and unwavering belief in what God could do, even if He didn't do it for them. That then allowed them to be patient amid the catastrophe that they found themselves in. The Hebrew Boys did not become distressed amid their affliction, but they walked around in it. And God delivered them just as they trusted that He could.  

 

If we recall Daniel 3:17, the Hebrew Boys stated:

 

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace,

the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand" (NIV).

 

This was there way of also saying...

 

""Many are the afflictions of the righteous:

but the Lord delivereth him out of them all"

(Psalm 34:19, KJV).

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The furnace was the Hebrew Boys' affliction, but they trusted that God would deliver them from "them all". "Them all" being the fiery furnace and the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. And that was the glory of their grief.

 

-------------The Praise of Past Afflictions------------------------------

 

"Will the Lord cast off forever? And will He be favorable no more? Has His mercy ceased forever? Has His promise failed forevermore? Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has He in anger shut up His tender mercies? Selah"

-Psalm 77:7-9 (NKJV)

 

In this psalm of Asaph, he is crying out to God amidst despair. He had began to wonder if God would abandon His people. He wondered if God would forever ignore their anguish and despair. He wondered if perhaps God had forever removed His mercies from them. We amidst our own anguish can find ourselves there. In that space in which it seems that God is nowhere to be found. In a space in which it seems that God is not hearing our cry or seeing the agony that we are in. But Asaph fell prostrate by accepting where he was while remembering what God had done and then recognizing what God could still do.

 

"And I said, 'This is my anguish; But I will remember the years of the right hand of the Most High.'

I will remember the works of the Lord; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.

I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary;

Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders;"

-Psalm 77:10-14 (NKJV)

 

As we face affliction there are going to be moments in which we will have to do much like Asaph and declare, "God, this is my anguish.", "God, this is my pain.", "God, this is my sorrow.", God, this is my despair.", "God, this is my affliction.", BUT I WILL REMEMBER ALL THE TIMES THAT YOU HAVE BROUGHT ME OUT! There is no one greater than you. And I trust that you CAN STILL PERFORM WONDERS!

 

We must learn to declare how good God is even when it seems like He is not moving. If we really reflect on Psalm 77:10-14, it is so aligned with the Hebrew Boys stance found in Daniel 3:17-18. Although verse 17 is already highlighted in the previous section in order compare it with Psalm 77:10-14 above, we are going to reexamine it along with verse 18 below:

 

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"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it,

and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand.

But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty,

that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (NIV).

 

Although not declaring to be anguished as Asaph was, much like Asaph, the Hebrew Boys understood and accepted the reality of where they were. And in doing so they chose to focus on who their God was. They chose to acknowledge the power of God. They chose to acknowledge God as a God that delivers, much like Asaph in his despair was still able to acknowledge God as a great God who performs wonders. 

 

---------------Patient in Affliction: How do we Get There?---------------         ---

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While the afflictions that we face are not one size fits all, the source and solution concerning our ability to be patient amidst them will be the same for all of us. Our source must be God, and the solution is to fully trust Him. Now, though source and solution are the same, how we act that out is going to look different for all of us. What it takes to muster our courage to trust is going to be different. Our surrender is going to be different. The attributes that we will have to develop, maintain, and strengthen will be different. BUT THROUGH GOD WE ALL CAN GET THERE!

 

When God stripped Job of everything, including his children and livestock, his response was,

--->“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised” (Job 1:21, NIV).

 

However, when Naomi lost her husband and both her sons, her response was,

--->"I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me" (Ruth 1:21, NIV).

 

Job and Naomi were both afflicted but did not react in the same way as it concerns having lost their loved ones. However, they both wrestled with hope. 

 

Job was sorrowful when his loved ones and all he owned was taken away from him. Job was anguished in pain when his body began to be attacked. But Job still stood firm and held on to the fact that God knew what He was doing. However, after days of going through this, Job then started to try to figure God out. He started looking for the whys as many of us do and thus is when he started to wrestle with hope. He uttered, “What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects, that I should be 
patient?" (Job 6:11, NIV). Despite his pain and confusion, Job stayed put and wrestled with God.

 

Naomi was sorrowful when she lost her husband and both her sons, but she did not stay in place as Job did. Naomi packed up and decided to return to her hometown in order to survive the famine. And as her daughters-in-law tried to follow her, she uttered, "Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons— would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is more bitter for me than for you, because the Lord’s hand has turned against me!” (Ruth 1:12-13, NIV). Naomi did not try to figure out the whys. Naomi did not sit and wait for God to come to her. However, she returned to her people which is pivotal because her returning to her people caused her daughter-in-law Ruth who vowed to journey with her, to also commit to and follow her God.

 

Both Job and Naomi dealt with loss, but they reacted and approached it differently. They both felt pain. They both felt despair. But they did not hold on to God in the same way. And though they were real about their feelings toward their situation and their feelings toward God, they still acknowledged the dominion and sovereignty of God. And though they both wrestled with their misfortune, neither one turned their back on God. They both considered God the cause of their misfortune, but they did not disown Him as their God. 

 

We are not all going to have the boldness and courageousness that the Hebrew Boys and Daniel had as they faced their fiery furnace and lions' den, and God is fully aware of that. However, HE STILL COMMANDS THAT WE TRUST HIM! The Hebrew Boys neither Daniel showed any fear, they showed no remorse, and even when put into that fiery furnace and lions' den, they did not sink into the despair of where they were.

 

Job and Naomi were a different case. They had all of those very real emotions that many of us feel when faced with affliction. This is why God gives us all of these different individuals as examples of what it means to trust Him. He knows that we are not all going to boldly walk into a fire and He also knows that many of us are going to ponder what is the point of hope when things start to be taken away from us and our bodies are under attack.

 

God knows that some of us are going to receive that foreclosure notice, that diagnosis, those divorce papers, and that department closure heads-up and proclaim what He can do without second thought. He knows that some of us will receive those notifications and boldly move forward in faith. God also knows that some of us are going to receive those same announcements and go straight into trying to figure out what He is up to. He knows that some of us are going to try to replay every step that we've taken and every decision that we've made to try to figure out if He is punishing us. There are some of us who at some point will just give up. However, regardless of what you do, whether you stand bold like the Hebrew Boys or express your anguish like Job, YOU CANNOT GIVE UP ON GOD because GOD WON'T GIVE UP ON YOU! It might sound cliche, but IT IS A CONCRETE TRUTH!

 

Although the trust of these individuals did not look the same, the trust was most definitely there even if not in a way that was noticeable. Most importantly, God knew their hearts and HE WAS FAITHFUL TO THEM ALL! Being patient in affliction is not easy but it is very much possible. However, trusting God is key. If we begin to question the whys and try to think like God, we will only become more frustrated especially because no matter how hard we try, none of us are capable of thinking like God. None of us have the mind of God.

 

1 Corinthians 2:11,14 reads, "For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God...The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit" (NIV). Our flesh will never be able to understand the things that God does and His reasons for doing them. Our flesh will never be able to accept what God allows. Our flesh will always think that what God does makes no sense. However, when we make a decision to dwell in God and allow HIs Spirit to abide in us, even when we don't understand what God does, we will be able to accept it with a trust and assurance that God makes no mistakes. When we dwell in God and He abides in us, we will be able to accept what we endure with an assurance that God is not capable of failure. When we dwell in God and allow Him to abide in us, we will be able to stand against whatever stands against us with a full and wholehearted belief that God works all things out for our GOOD! When we dwell in God and allow His Spirit to lead, guide, and nurture us amidst our afflictions, we will be able to be patient amidst them even when the results challenge the very thing that we are believing God to do.

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