The Same God

Last night we had a singing group called The Phillips Family visiting with us at church.  I have heard them many times and they are so good!  It's three brothers and a sister and you just can't beat good family harmony.  I knew one of the brothers used to be a pastor, but I had no idea one of the other brothers was a preacher too.  After they sang, he preached a message, and can I just say.......WOW!  I love it when preachers use stories and explain things in a way that I can really connect with.  I was really struck by one of the points in the message.  It wasn't the whole subject, but it really stood out to me.

First, here's a little background.  Nebuchadnezzar the king had made an image of gold and set it up.  He told all the people in the land that when they hear the sound of this certain music, they are to fall down and worship the golden image that he had made.  He said any people that do not  immediately fall down and worship shall be cast into a fiery furnace that same hour. 

Well, the music played for the first time and everyone began worshipping this man-made golden image.  Everyone except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  They did not bow down.  Some of the kings people came and told the king that these three Hebrew boys had disobeyed him which made him very angry.  He had the three men brought to him and even told them a second time that they were supposed to bow down and worship this golden image when they heard the music.  I can just imagine the king saying something like
"What's wrong with you boys?  Can't you hear?  I told you to bow down and worship this golden god of mine when the music plays.  Now are you gonna cooperate or not?"

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not even have to think before they answered the king saying
"O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.                                                        
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up."


**This is how I can imagine it being said,
"Now you listen here o king, we are not gonna candy-coat this or beat around the bush any.  If you are gonna throw us in the fire, you just go right ahead.  Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the fiery furnace and he will deliver us out of your hand.  But if he doesn't, you make sure we're clear on this, we will not serve your silly piece of gold you call god!)

They knew who their God was and they knew he was alive and full of power to help them unlike that chunk of gold the king wanted them to serve.  Can you imagine talking to something like a candlestick and asking it to help you through your daily trials and struggles?  It can't hear you....it can't move.... it's not real.  I stand in awe of their boldness to answer with certainty who they were going to serve.  Faced with being thrown in a fiery furnace and being burned alive and they still did not waiver.  It makes me think of the Columbine school shooting where one of the killers walked up to a young girl, pointed a gun at her head and asked her if she believed in God.  She answered yes, and he shot and killed her. 

Just think about being in a life or death situation like that for a moment.  Would you be bold enough to stand up for Jesus and answer yes...without a doubt you believe and trust in him?

So, anyway the king told them to heat the fire seven times hotter than it already was.  He commanded the most mighty men in his army to bind the three Hebrew boys up and throw them in the fire.  Because of it being hotter than normal, the army men were instantly killed by the flame of the fire as they got close.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego fell into the fire.  Immediately the king jumped up and called out to some other men standing around and said "Hey, didn't we just throw three men into the fire?"  They answered him and agreed that three men were thrown in.  Well I'm sure the king must have thought he was going crazy or maybe he was just delirious from the heat because he could see not one......not two......not even three......but FOUR men loose and walking around in the fire with not a care in the world it seemed.  He proclaimed that the fourth man looked like the Son of God!!!!!!!  The king went over to the edge and called the boys to come out and when they did not one single hair was even singed.  Their clothes didn't even smell like smoke. 

Now here's where it starts really getting good!  Remember they had told the king that the God they served was ABLE to deliver them from the fire.  Then they went one step further and said that God WILL deliver them from out of the hand of the king one way or another.  But they knew that even if God chose not to physically save them from the fire and they were instead burned up, they would spend eternity in heaven with the Lord and would still be free from the king.  They knew that God would show up in someway to help them, and he sure did!!!

He didn't just sit up in heaven and wave his hand and put out the fire for them. 
He didn't tell them it was going to be ok and to just stick it out.

HE GOT IN THE FIRE WITH THEM. 

That is exactly what God does for you and me too.  He doesn't just sit and watch us struggle from a distance and wave a magic wand to make things better.  He is right here with us.  He will not leave you to fumble through your trials alone.  He may not always answer a prayer the way you think it should be done.  But no matter how God sees fit to handle the situation, he is still right there with you. 

Sometimes he will deliver you out of whatever it is that is happening just like he did with the Hebrew boys. 

Sometimes he will allow things to happen to you that are really awful like he did with Job. 

But he will always be right there with you to provide strength, comfort, peace, help, and love no matter what the circumstance.

What's the point of all this rambling you ask?

It is simply this:  The God we serve today, is the very same God that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego served all those years ago.  He's the same one that was standing in the fiery furnace with them.  He's the same one that kept the lion's from eating Daniel in the lion's den.  He's the same one that literally parted the Red Sea for Moses.  He's the same one that allowed Jonah to survive being swallowed and live in the belly of a whale before being spit out.  He's the same one that healed sick people, cleansed the lepers, opened blinded eyes, and raised the dead. 

God is the same God yesterday, today, and for all eternity.  If he could perform miracles like these that seem almost unbelievable back then, why do we not have enough faith that he can help us with our problems today?  Surely he can help with our financial struggles, our marital issues, or our broken cars and dishwashers.  We just need to remember that not only is our God ABLE, but that he WILL deliver his children like he said he would!