There were 3 guys (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) who decided they would be different from the rest of their generation. They chose to live a life for the Lord when no one else around them was. Many of you probably know them. They were told to conform, to go along with the crowd, and to worship a false idol. They said no. They were pressured to give into the temptation, but they stood their ground. They knew God had the power to save them, and even if he did not, he was still good. This choice was suppose to cost them their lives, but when they were thrown into the furnace, a guard shouted, "'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."' Daniel 3:25. The king that threw them in the furnace was shocked. He called for them to come out of the fire, and they did. "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" Daniel 3:27b.
When I read this tonight, I saw the story in a totally new way. Previously, I had always thought that Jesus simply protected them from the fire. That very well may have been all he did, but I believe it's so much deeper than that. The scripture says that the smell of fire wasn't even on them, and anyone who has been to a bonfire knows you don't even have to stand that close to the fire to end up smelling like smoke, much less be thrown into the middle of it. This got me thinking, Jesus didn't just simply protect them, he surrounded them. The band UPPERROOM has a song called "Surrounded." In it there is a line that says, "it may look like I'm surrounded, but I'm surrounded by you." The song goes on to declare, "this is how I fight my battles."
When we face battles, we don't have to let it determine how we live our lives. God surrounds us in the midst of the fire. That's how we live in the peace that passes all understanding in the middle of a stressful season. That's how we walk in the joy of the Lord when there seems to be nothing to be joyful about. This is how we can say "even if you don't, God, you are still good." This is how we fight our battles, not in our own strength, but in his. It may look like you're surrounded by your circumstances, but you're surrounded by the Prince of Peace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i4eKctuEOY
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