Walking Through Flames

I remember as a kid watching Veggie Tales movies. My mom would buy the VHSs every time we stopped at the local Christian bookstore, and as a chipper little girl, I got excited about anything and everything -- including talking vegetables.

There's one particular Veggie Tales movie I remember: the one about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

In the delightfully animated Veggie Tales version, King Nebuchadnezzar builds a giant chocolate bunny (okay, who wouldn't chomp that down at Easter?). Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow down to the giant candy figure, whom the entire rest of the nation is bowing down to. They're accused by one of the king's officials and brought before King Nebuchadnezzar.

Let's dive into Daniel 3, where the real version is recorded (instead of a chocolate bunny, it was an image of gold constructed).

"Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego... He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace." (Daniel 3:19-21)

But instead of burning up in flames, the three men withstood the fire and stayed alive! King Nebuchadnezzar and his associates saw three forms in the fire, in addition to a fourth that was an angel of the Lord.

As a result, Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego out of the fire and worshipped their God.

Such an amazing story. It haunts me that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego actually withstood the fire. How could something so miraculous happen? Wouldn't the heat have caused them to melt instantly, like the officials who threw them in (they didn't even step into the fire)?

I'm reminded of the flames we walk through on a day-to-day basis. They may not be actual orange, blazing flames that are heated at over 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, but they still pose the same struggle and pain as real fire.

What are your flames? Maybe it's the broken family situation you're in; maybe it's a physical disability you're forced to live with.

Whatever temperature and height the fiery flames of your life are at, know that you are a precious piece of gold in the hand of the Refiner.

Here's a cool Bible verse I stumbled across tonight at dinner:

"Gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, lead, and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire, and then it will be clean." (Numbers 31:22)

Read that again. All of the precious metals back in Old Testament times were commanded to be put through the fire, because they could WITHSTAND the fire.

As a precious piece of gold in the Refiner's hands, God puts you through fire because He knows you'll be able to withstand it! It's not because He wants to hurt you. The fire may be painful and may cause you to want to give up at times, but if you keep pushing through and enduring the struggle, it will be worth it in the end.

Because fire cleanses. And it shapes.

God only puts you through what you can handle. He knows where you're at with your walk with Christ, and will only carry you through the flames that will mold you.

Be prepared to be ablaze. God is ready to refine you; all you need to do is take one step forward into the fire.

Flames

You won't relent until You have it all
My heart is Yours

The lyrics spiral off my lips once again during another Sunday worship service. My hands are raised in surrender to the Lord, and tears begin to mat my face. I am in the Lord's presence. But what am I really singing? I am declaring full submission to the Lord. Am I really going to follow through on this?
Doubt beings to flood my mind. The enemy rattles off the lies once again.
You are such a hypocrite. You act like you love the Lord and rejoice with thanksgiving during worship, but when you leave this place you're going to slip again. Just watch. I'll throw another obstacle in your way and you won't be able to live out what you're declaring now. What a wimp.

I try to stop the negative thoughts rolling through my brain. I keep mouthing the words on the screen and declaring promises of the Lord found in Scripture over me. The language of my heart becomes the language of Scripture and the Holy Spirit.

The song continues.

Come be the fire inside of me
Until You and I are one

I am asking the Lord to fill me up. I am asking him to burn inside of me.

You know what's neat? The analogy of a fire. We are declaring the Lord to dwell inside of us as a fire when we sing this song. A fire!
I did a little research on fires. The definition of fire is: "the rapid oxidation of a material in the chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products." That brings us back to high school chemistry class, doesn't it? Haha. Okay, let's dissect this.
Oxidation is the process of oxygen combining with a chemical. In my little analogy, let's call us the chemicals. When we experience the Lord and become ONE with Him, combustion occurs. Spiritual combustion. Spiritual combustion is an outcome of steadfast prayer, devotion, sacrifice, worship, thanksgiving, service, fellowship... Any of the spiritual disciplines that the Lord calls us to.
But what exactly results from a spiritual combustion?

I am reminded of the verse in Malachi 3:3: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." God is the silver smith and we are the silver he works with. My roommate posted this story from an anonymous source that relates to this analogy:

As a woman watched the silver smith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot - then she thought again about the verse, that he sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.

She asked the silver smith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left even a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silver smith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?"
He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."

Pause for a second. Think about that. Are there moments in your life when it seems like all walls are crashing down on you and you can't seem to break through? Probably, yeah. But you know what? God's got His eyes and hands on us. He's watching us through every battle, every pain, and every sadness. And his grip on us will never loosen. The Lord is the mighty and careful silver smith who pays close attention to each one of His creations.

And those difficult moments? He'll pull us out when the time is right. He's allow just enough pain and suffering, and then rescue us so we can "go out into all the earth" and proclaim our story of restoration and deliverance to others. For it is by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony that we change the world.