Last week was one of those weeks that jars me back to the reality that we live in a fallen world, and following Jesus doesn’t exempt us from all the consequences of the Fall.
A young family I know lost a small child in a tragic accident. My heart grieves with them. I also received the news that my dorm parents at the first college I attended lost their lives in a fire. It was one of those weeks where the world feels painfully broken, where all the words in the world seem inadequate. In moments like these, there are no eloquent prayers, no simple answers—just the gut-wrenching cry of the heart, “Oh, God, help us.”
As I reflected on these experiences this weekend, the ancient story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace recorded in Daniel 3 came to mind. There’s a small but profound phrase in verse 26: “So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.” This simple statement carries such a profound truth for us as followers of Jesus. In the furnace, the three young men walked in the fire—a period of suffering and trial—but they did not walk alone. Remember the fourth man in the fire (verse 35)? Nor did they stay in the fire indefinitely. They “stepped out of the fire.”
Every trial has three phases: the moment we step into the fire, the challenging time of walking in the fire, and the eventual moment we step out. The promise we embrace is that, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, there will always be a moment when we step out of the fire—changed, perhaps, but not consumed.
A young family I know lost a small child in a tragic accident. My heart grieves with them. I also received the news that my dorm parents at the first college I attended lost their lives in a fire. It was one of those weeks where the world feels painfully broken, where all the words in the world seem inadequate. In moments like these, there are no eloquent prayers, no simple answers—just the gut-wrenching cry of the heart, “Oh, God, help us.”
As I reflected on these experiences this weekend, the ancient story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the fiery furnace recorded in Daniel 3 came to mind. There’s a small but profound phrase in verse 26: “So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire.” This simple statement carries such a profound truth for us as followers of Jesus. In the furnace, the three young men walked in the fire—a period of suffering and trial—but they did not walk alone. Remember the fourth man in the fire (verse 35)? Nor did they stay in the fire indefinitely. They “stepped out of the fire.”
Every trial has three phases: the moment we step into the fire, the challenging time of walking in the fire, and the eventual moment we step out. The promise we embrace is that, like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, there will always be a moment when we step out of the fire—changed, perhaps, but not consumed.
Duke Stone
After 40 years in full-time ministry, I try to see how the little things in life speak big things about God. This blog is an attempt to share with you the many ways I see the love of God in the ordinary things of life.
After 40 years in full-time ministry, I try to see how the little things in life speak big things about God. This blog is an attempt to share with you the many ways I see the love of God in the ordinary things of life.
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