Live.Awake

No Smell of Fire

// October 18th, 2007 // Christian Living

We are doing the Beth Moore Bible Study of Daniel right now. We are only in week three, but already God is challenging my thinking. I can tell it is one of those things that is going to continue to grow in me as I pray through and continue to study it. This week the session was called “No Smell of Fire”. Beth was focusing on the chapter in Daniel when Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are thrown into the fire for not bowing to the idol as they were commanded to do. Of course, there are too many great points to spell out each one, but what really stood out to me was what she said about the fire.

She was saying that we ALL go through fires in our lives…the question is not if but when we go through them how will we respond? Some fires are small, some big and some are huge. There are three primary scenarios when we face a fiery trial:

• We can be delivered FROM the fire.
  • When God delivers us FROM the fire, the dividend is that our faith is BUILT.
• We can be delivered THROUGH the fire.
  • When God delivers us THROUGH the fire, the dividend is that our faith is REFINED.
  • To have our faith refined, it means we have to pass through the fire!
• We can be delivered BY the fire into the arms of Jesus (death).
  • When God delivers us BY the fire the dividend is that our faith is PERFECTED….or made complete.

What really stood out to me is that we all face fiery trials in our lives. So many times I find myself trying to avoid the things that are going to build or refine my faith because it means that I am going to have to face the fire. If I really had a proper outlook on eternity and the big picture, the fire wouldn’t scare me. In fact, I should be rejoicing in the times when I am facing the fire because it means that God is freeing me of the bondages that are trying to tie me down.

When the three men came out of the fire, not only were they not burnt but they didn’t even have the smell of fire on them. Too many times we come out of the fiery trials with the smell of smoke on us. In other words, we come out whining that God didn’t do this or that, or that we had to face the trial in the first place..that life is too hard. What we are doing is bowing down to Bitterness, Despair and Unbelief. When we do that, the purpose of the trial is lost. We don’t gain the freedom that God intended for us. I have been in this boat before and it isn’t fun…what it meant for me was that I had to face the same fire again.

To come through the trials without being scorched, we must stay in the presence of God. We have to draw close to Him in these times. He is the only one who can save us. It means that we have to trust that He is God even when we don’t understand. I think that too many times we are wimpy Christians, always looking for an easy way out…a way to avoid the fire all together. It is important for us to understand that God puts the fires in our lives to bring us more freedom and to produce in us character so that someone who is not saved can look at our lives and say “I can’t believe you went through that and you seem almost happy about it.” After all, why should we face our trials the same way that non-Christians do? We have a hope and a future and it is important to remember that the world is watching to see if we are going to live that way.

So, I know that you may not be jumping up and down the next time a fire comes your way (I am not seeking out the fires), but just remember in the midst of it that God is producing in you a faith and character that can be used for His glory and as Christians that is what we are here for…to bring Him glory!!