Out of the fiery furnace

Last night I had a difficult phone call with a friend. My purely emotional reaction was hurt, betrayal and a profound sense of sadness. I went to bed, hoping a good night's sleep would be restorative. I awakened, wide awake, at 2:30 a.m., heavy-hearted. I wanted to talk to someone, to have someone to pray for me, when the Lord gently reminded me that I could come directly to Him.....duh!!! As I prayed, I asked God to give me SOMETHING from His Word. He said, "Daniel 3, especially verses 24-25." I turned on the light and opened my Bible, wondering what Daniel 3 had to do with anything. I began reading the whole chapter, and when I reached verse 24 where Nebudchadnezzar "leaps up" and sees not THREE men in the fiery furnace but FOUR, and the fourth looks like a "son of the gods," tears nearly leapt from my eyes; the Lord gently said, "I am with you in YOUR fiery furnace right now." I bawled and bawled, confessing my sin, repenting for not believing that indeed God willingly walks into the fiery furnace He's allowed us to be "tossed into", and it's out of the fiery furnace that He is bringing forth His purified gold! If that wasn't enough, after just 4 hours of sleep, I went into school with such a renewed love and compassion for my students, and teaching today was such joy! After school, I took some trousers to the seamstress across the street from my flat and the Lord opened the door for me to tell her about how much Jesus loves her! Finally, tonight I got to hear the story from a dear friend of mine who shared how she was suffering terribly from an inner ear inflammation and when she asked the Lord to show her if there was anything in her life she needed to deal with, and He said, "Yes, you are full of envy!" Immediately, the Lord showed her her enviousness and she began confessing and repenting, and just as immediately, the horrible pain and inflammation started to subside, very rapidly, along with another 7 month excruciatingly painful physical problem. Out of the fiery furnace, God brings forth His gold, which He is refining for His glory. Are we willing to forsake all, worship Him alone, risk being thrown bound into the fiery furnace? We can be if we see God for who He really is....one who is IN the fiery furnace with us, bringing us out, and continuing to do His refining work in and through us in the lives of the ones He loves!!! www.ceokids.org