Not even the smell of smoke

Have you ever spent some time in a car that is owned by someone who smokes?  If you are like me, and have asthma… you have to either burn your clothes or wash them three times.  Smoke gets into your clothing so easily.  And it is hard to come out. 

But not always.

“And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.” Daniel 3:27

We are often called to walk through the fire.  Maybe it is a job, or a relationship.  Maybe it is the loss of a loved one, or news from the doctor.  Whatever it is… it can get hot.  And we may feel like we are alone.

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego… the men who came out of a raging furnace without even the smell of smoke on them… they knew how to deal with the fire…

They just walked into it. We might think that they had great faith… but this wasn’t a matter of faith.  It was a matter of discipline, a matter of devotion, a matter of conviction.

Take a look and see what they say….

“If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Daniel 3:17-18 bold mine

They knew God could.  They knew He was able.  They just weren’t sure of He would.  They were willing to face death.  And I think the reason is hidden in the verse 17.

“he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king”

This verse isn’t a question. It is a statement of fact.  They saw death as deliverance.  If God didn’t deliver them from the fiery furnace, they would still be delivered from the king. 

Paul said it best when he said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  As believers we know this.  We shouldn’t be afraid to die.

I know that the process of dieing can be a little scary.  But can you imagine facing the fiery furnace.

If you are facing a next-to-impossible situation, or up against overwhelming odds… if you are staring into a fiery furnace…

Go ahead… walk in…

You’ll find Jesus there…

“Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, [and] spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 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 3:24-25

His name is Jehovah-Shammah… He is always there.

Sometimes to walk with Him, we have to go where He is… in the fire.

And we will come out… without even the smell of smoke on us.

SDG