June 10: IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD

Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. Daniel 3:26

It was not until bidden to come out by King Nebuchadnezzar did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego exit the furnace. The three young, faithful, and respectful Hebrew men had remained in the fire with the Lord Jesus up until the moment of the king’s call. It was the king who had called for them to go into the fiery furnace, therefore, they reasoned that it was his place to call them out of it again. Forgotten was the massive, golden statue which had been so meticulously constructed, set up, and planned around. Now, the attention of all of the dignitaries in attendance was fixed upon these three who had been in the presence of God.

And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. (v.27)

This description of the three young men after being cast into the heated-to-capacity brick kiln is beyond amazing. The sovereign and supernatural power of our Creator to protect in any circumstance was made abundantly evident in every detail of the story, down to the removal of the ropes with which they had been bound. Beloved, are you ready to rely fully upon the One who loves you best? The Giver of Life will not violate your will. You are free to trust Him or not to trust Him. He lovingly communicates that His sovereign and supernatural protection is conditional upon your choice to rely upon Him by faith in His word — through an obedience borne of faith. These servants of the Most High God stood firmly for His second commandment when challenged by the culture (see Exodus 20:4-6), and they were supernaturally vindicated before the eyes of their accusers and all of those present. When these representatives of the various nations returned home, the story of God’s miraculous deliverance of the three Hebrews in their hour of trial was carried with them—and God was glorified among the nations!

An important lesson for us and our children to learn is that, in this fallen world, Satan delights to promote anything that goes against the design and will of God; such antichristian ideas are presented as normal, even preferable. For every precept of God, there are one or more counterfeits being propagated by the enemy of souls. One does not have to be highly educated to possess discernment between the real and the counterfeit; just a willingness to get to know God and spend time with Him as a friend… listening, praying, and studying His “love letter” to us. Such precious time…in the presence of God!

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. Acts 4:13