Article April 20, 2020 Issue

How I prayed about a wildfire

Joan McCormick

I have always found great comfort and hope in the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (see Daniel, chapter 3). The Bible tells us these Hebrew captives were bound and thrown into a fiery furnace by the king of Babylon because they refused to worship his golden idol. But when the king looked into the furnace, he was amazed to find the three walking around in the midst of the fire unharmed—and that there was a fourth person among them who was “like the Son of God.” The astonished king let the Hebrews out of the furnace and blessed them, and he honored their God.

What was going on here? Was the Son of God just suddenly present in the furnace? I don’t think so. Each of these Hebrew men had lived a God-centered life before the furnace incident. They loved God and obeyed the First Commandment, putting God above all else. They prayed and feasted on God’s Word and did not waver in the face of false authority or a threat to their lives.

The humble, steadfast faithfulness of these men enabled them to realize that the Christ—the spiritual understanding and representation of God—was present, walking with them. And this understanding saved them from the fiery furnace.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

Not afraid but not naive