Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. Daniel 3:20 Think briefly about one of the most growing seasons of your life. For me, it was a move my family and I made across the state in high school. The move forced me to step out of my comfort zone, and I grew tremendously. Was it easy to move across the state and start a new school in high school? No! It was challenging. And it was the challenges that forced me to grow. If I had stayed in my hometown throughout high school, I would have been comfortable, but the character God built in me through the challenge of moving would not exist. So, while we often want comfort, God prioritizes our character over our comfort.
Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. Daniel 3:20
Think briefly about one of the most growing seasons of your life. For me, it was a move my family and I made across the state in high school. The move forced me to step out of my comfort zone, and I grew tremendously. Was it easy to move across the state and start a new school in high school? No! It was challenging. And it was the challenges that forced me to grow. If I had stayed in my hometown throughout high school, I would have been comfortable, but the character God built in me through the challenge of moving would not exist. So, while we often want comfort, God prioritizes our character over our comfort.
We have been studying the lives of Daniel and three of his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, this week. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego found themselves in a dire situation. They were exiles in Babylon, brought from their homes in Judah to serve in the king's court in Babylon. While they were there, the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had a statue built. He ordered everyone in his kingdom to bow down to the statue or be thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to it. Because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego followed God, they refused to bow down. The king gave them one last chance to bow down to the statue, but they refused. If I were writing the story, this would be a good time for God to intervene by changing the king's mind or sending an angel to strike down the king. None of these things happened. Instead, the king ordered the furnace to be seven times hotter than usual (verse 19). The fire was so hot that the soldiers who threw the men into the furnace died, but "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames” (verses 22-23). God did not keep these men from being thrown into the fire. This is not how I would have written the story, and yet this is what happened. Why did God allow them to face the furnace? They needed to face the furnace to see that God would take care of them even in the furnace and allow them to remain unscathed from the flames. God was building their character. This was far more important than their own comfort.
My friends, still today, God prioritizes our character over our comfort. Sometimes, He allows us to walk through trials and difficulties to see that He will walk us through our trials. He uses our difficult circumstances to make us stronger. Of course, none of us like to go through hard times. But, at the same time, you know this to be true: we would not trade the character that God built in us for anything.
Write down the words character over comfort on your bathroom mirror with a dry-erase marker or a notecard that you can place on your mirror. Remember that it is often in your most difficult, challenging times that God builds your character, and you cannot put a price on deeply rooted character.
Daniel 3:19-23
"Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. 20 Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. 22 And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. 23 So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames."
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