| Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” |
| —Daniel 3:16-18 |
The three Hebrew men had determined to serve the Lord. They had trusted Him to act in their behalf according to His powerful will. The king had ordered everyone in the Persian kingdom to bow before the large golden image he had erected of himself. Those who disobeyed would be thrown into the fiery furnace. These three refused to bow to anyone or anything except to their God.
This story from ancient times reminds me of the trial-by-fire my younger sister went through. Five years ago, she received the staggering diagnosis of multiple myeloma, a rare cancer of the blood plasma cells. She certainly did not know if the long, painful process ahead would mean life or death for her. When she told her weeping grandchildren of the diagnosis, she comforted them with these words: “I’ll be okay. And, even if I’m not, I’ll be okay.”
Mixed with all the distressful and discouraging days she went through were also days of hope and seeming progress toward a restoration to full health. During all of the months of not knowing what would happen, she remained stalwart in her faith and never waivered from a solid trust in God that drove her to remark: “I’ll be okay.”
Time passed. The doctors harvested her stem cells, subjected her to horrific chemotherapy to kill all the cancer cells, and transplanted her harvested stem cells back into her body. For a short time, it appeared this therapy had worked. Then, the devastating news told her the cancer was back with a ferocity that startled everyone. As she lost her battle with cancer, she gained new strength to submit her life to the wisdom and care of her Heavenly Father. And soon, He welcomed her to her heavenly home.
Plenty of Christians have suffered loss and terrible life circumstances without losing their faith. Yet others, when life’s trials come, seem to lose their connection to the sure foundation we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. Some, finding themselves disappointed with God, create a new god and even re-frame the tenets of Christianity to transform the historic faith into one more of their liking.
In contrast to those who seemingly abandon their faith, when Christian businessman, Horatio G. Spafford, lost all four of his daughters in a sinking ship in the Atlantic Ocean, he wrote the words to a beloved gospel hymn, that begins with these words:1
When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
“It is well. It is well with my soul.”
Refrain: It is well with my soul.
It is well, it is well with my soul.
Casting all our cares and concerns on God allows Him to work His will powerfully in us, regardless of the earthly outcome of our circumstances. Whether God comes to the rescue, as He did for the Hebrew men, or chooses that which we fear most, as He did with my sister, may He always be praised! And, may we be comforted and given strong assurance that His will for us is always, always perfect beyond our ability to comprehend.
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| 1 Spafford, Horatio G. “It is Well with My Soul.” Public Domain. |
