Lately, in my life, it seems as though the heat is being turned up. The fire and trials of life seem to be getting hotter. During this season, I want to realize now more than ever, that God is close at hand.

There is a song by Rick Pino that has been on repeat in my life lately. The chorus says this, “There’s a fourth man standing there in the fire, you’re not alone.” I love that song and have listened to it over and over again.

It is about the story in the book of Daniel when King Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fire for not worshiping the golden image that the King had set up. Let’s take a look at that story.

The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,  and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, O king.”

He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods…They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was NO smell of fire on them.

Daniel 3: 22-27

I love that! The King turned up the fire so hot that the soldiers who took them to the fire were killed immediately. They died just standing near the fire. That is one hot fire!

Then, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego get thrown directly INTO the fire, and they are not harmed?

What an amazing testimony of God’s protection!

The King looked into the fire and saw four men standing in it when he had only thrown three in. The Bible says the fourth person was either the pre-incarnate Christ who often appears in the Old Testament as an “angel of the Lord” or may have been an angel sent by God to protect them.

They were not alone, neither are you.

You are not alone. If the fires in your life are being turned up, if things that were once certain seem uncertain, if places that were once comfortable are suddenly uncomfortable, you are NOT alone in it.

How can we navigate our circumstances differently by knowing that God is with us? For me, it helps me to know that even though something took me by surprise, it wasn’t a surprise to God.

He isn’t in Heaven pacing back and forth saying, “I didn’t see this coming, what a shock!” He is at peace, and He is with me, the same way He is with you. We can pray, release our cares and our worries, knowing that He is with us.

What represents the fire in your life? Maybe for you, it is a financial struggle, a challenging relationship, or depression. There is a fourth man standing in the fire with you. He will never leave you, you are not alone. You can lean on God during the trials and fires of life, my hope for you is that brings a sense of peace.

There was NO smell of fire on them.

My family loves to sit by the fire in our backyard. We have had some of our best conversations there. When we are finished and go inside, everyone in my family takes a shower. They do not want to go to bed smelling like smoke.

Just sitting by the fire, your hair and your clothes smell like smoke. When we read Daniel 3:27, we see that they stood IN the fire, and yet when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out, there was no smell of fire on them. WHOA!

They got out of that incredibly hot fire without a hair on their head burned, robes intact, and they did not even smell like smoke! Only God could have organized that!

Whatever fire you are facing, may you have peace knowing that you are not alone and that you come out of this fire without even smelling like smoke. No evidence of the trial except for a greater trust, love and wisdom than you ever had before!

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