Daniel 3:24-25

New International Version (NIV)

Then 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.” 

For meditation

Have you experienced God’s saving grace in a fiery situation before? As the three Hebrew boys experienced in King Nebuchadnezzar’s seven-times-heated oven, have you seen God’s glory in such a practical way before (Dan. 3:19-27)?

What does a mother do when, after strapping her three children in their car seats and closing the door, she realizes she has locked herself out, with keys, her phone, and the children left in the car? With the sizzling New Orleans summer temperature outside, the children frightened and crying, her desperation was palpable. Can you imagine her distress and that of a father at work?

Now, when all her frantic attempts to break the windows and the efforts of two neighbors had failed, the mother’s only recourse was to look to the Lord. How could she live with the haunting thought that she had literally thrown her children into the “fire” in that situation?

But in that helpless situation, three Hispanic young men, sitting nearby and waiting for someone to hire them for a day’s job, calmly walked to the scene and, seeing the three children, quickly got into action and opened the door. What would you call them? Were they not unexpected angels sent by God as strangers to rescue my grandchildren from that desperate situation?

Have you experienced the ministry of angels before? If that was not the saving grace of God at work in this incident, what was it? Do you see why I am singing the song of praise with my daughter this morning as we recall this day? How could Grandpa deal with such terrible news? I had just returned to Dakar from burying my sister in Ghana – in October 2015.

I pray you will praise the Lord with us this morning for revealing His glory in this critical and desperate incident and believe that God still delivers His beloved from the fiery furnace, just as He did with the three Hebrew boys.

Take heart then and know that in your current fiery oven, Jesus is the “fourth” person with you (Daniel 3:24-25). Just as Nebuchadnezzar threw the three Hebrew boys into a fiery furnace, you may feel you’re in a similar situation. Only remember, Jesus is with you. He will not allow “the fire” to consume you (27). Instead, He will favor you with His saving grace and deliver you for His glory!

Prayer

Glory, honor, and praise belong to you, O Lord, who deserves it all for your mighty deeds and unfathomable love for your beloved in Christ. When we forget such testimonies, our praise is weak, and our worship is devoid of joy and less authentic. Thank you for this reminder of your great deliverance in New Orleans nine years ago. Receive our joyous praise this morning and that of every reader who recalls your mighty deliverance in their life. We pray all this in the matchless name of your Worthy Son, Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and King Eternal. Amen.