When we think about examples of fire in the Bible, there’s a few that come to mind, but one more quickly than the others – the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

A quick recap if it’s been a hot minute (get it, hot? 😉) since you’ve been to Sunday School:

These young men were taken captive when Babylon overtook the Israelites. They were friends with Daniel (yes, the same Daniel who got sent to the lions’ den). They worshipped God and followed His commands the best they knew how to under King Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. One day, the King decided that everyone (and he meant everyone) would start to bow down and worship an “image of gold” that he set up. Any violators would be thrown into a blazing furnace.

Well Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, worshipping God the best they knew how, did not bow down to the gold image. They knew the price that they would pay and knew that it was worth it to be true to God.

As expected, King Nebuchadnezzar did not appreciate their devotion to God. The Bible says that he was “furious with rage” and upon confirming this infraction with these men (who 110% stood by their decision in his presence), he ordered them to be thrown into the fire. And not just the regular fire – he had the furnace heated 7 times hotter than usual. In fact, the strongest men oversaw tying up our 3 friends and upon getting close enough to throw them into the furnace, these strong men were killed themselves.

Where this story gets really interesting is that once Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in the furnace, they were walking around. AND… they were not alone. Here’s the dialogue as found in the NIV version of the Bible:

“The 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.”

Spoiler alert – the 3 men were completely fine and didn’t even smell of smoke once they were rescued. A complete miracle, given the kill-status of the King’s men.

I love this story so much. We can have confidence that even if God calls us to walk through fire, we can KNOW that He will be walking right beside us. God doesn’t promise us an easy road just because we follow Him; much to the contrary actually. But that same God will never leave us to be destroyed in the fires of this sinful world. He will provide what we need to get through to the other side and out of the fire. He will use our fires for His glory; Praise God!

If you want to read the full story, check out Daniel 3:1-28.

Photo credit: Viktor Solomonik via Unsplash.com