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. Daniel 3:17-18

Devotion

In my late 20s, I had an experience that drastically shaped my life. My housemate, and dear friend, was diagnosed with cancer. For eleven months, I watched cancer slowly destroy her physically. I was not alone in caring for her, but not many saw her decline in the way her fiance and I did. As I watched my friend’s struggle increase, I had other personal events that left me in a deep pit of darkness. I felt like I was surviving on the fumes of faith, wanting the misery to end. 

I spent many nights that year in tears. One Sunday in the depths of despair, the sermon was about Daniel 3, “But even if he does not.” Not often does one sermon change your whole life, but this one did. I left that morning resolved to not turn from the God who has never left me. But even if my friend is not healed from cancer, I will not turn away. But even if my life does not work out the way I have planned, I will not forsake the Lord. But even if … that day my faith was deepened. Life did not change, I changed. My dear friend passed, and the other issues took some work to improve.

Some seasons in life are significantly more difficult than others—we all know this. It is in these seasons—when all seems hopeless, when you are looking towards a fiery furnace thinking, “There is no way out of this. I am at the end my rope. I don’t know what to do, everything sucks and the dumpster is on fire.”— that we can learn God is there. He never left you. You may not “feel” him, but he is right next to you. 

The upcoming holiday season may be difficult this year. You may be in a season of pain, grief, or despair. I hope that in the midst of the heartache, you will remember the words of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, “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.”

The three men in this account were facing the death penalty for not worshiping the image of gold that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. The king’s declaration stated that anyone who did not worship the image of gold would be put into a furnace. That is the fate these men faced. Nebuchanezzar’s anger raged, and he had the furnace turned up, so much that the guards leading the men into the furnace were killed. At this point, we don’t know the thoughts or doubts running through the minds of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, but we do know the outcome!

Nebuchadnezzar said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods” (v 25). The king requested they be removed from the furnace and “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” (v 27).

God has not forsaken you. He is with you through whatever you are going through.

PRAYER

Father God, thank you for not leaving us. Thank you for being there, even when I don’t feel you. God, my faith may be weak, but I will not turn away. God, even if my situation does not change, I will not relent. I will not bow to the idols the world has set up. I am yours. 

Nevan White
Administrative Assistant for Congregational Care  

Resources

• Watch the Unwavering series by Senior Pastor Marty Grubbs.
• Watch What If … We Believed God is Always with Us? by Senior Pastor Marty Grubbs.
• Listen to Another in the Fire by Crossings Venue Worship.

Read More Devotions

Explore other devotions like this one any time at crossings.church/devotions.