Daily devotion – the fourth man
Dan 3:24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
These three young teenage Jewish men would not bow down to the idolatry of Babylon or the image of Nebuchadnezzar. They were wonderfully courageous in their worship of God.
The early Church went through great conflict and persecution as God began to make it grow.
Acts 14: 21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
How do we enter the Kingdom? Through much tribulation!
These three young men knew this intimately. They were in a fiery trial indeed because they preferred walking in the fire with the Lord to sitting in the shade without Him.
What happened to the fourth Man in the furnace? He remained in the fire!
Where is Jesus – the fourth Man – today?
In the fire.
As you remain faithful to Him, He continues with you in the storm of adversity.
We have a tendency to try to avoid the fire whenever possible, and it’s a great mistake. I am not saying we should be masochistic in our thinking. But I am saying…..it’s in the fire, when times are tough, when your heart is breaking…that Jesus Christ becomes most real.
He is with you!