What To Do When Life Gets Hard – What We Can Learn From Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
How to Glorify God in Hard Seasons
It’s easy to have an attitude of thankfulness and joy when life goes well, when everything goes according to plan and seems to be falling into place. Work is going well, it feels fun to go to church, your relationship with God is in a good place, the kids are healthy, you are healthy and so on. In those moments it’s easy for us to say that God is good, that He is faithful and that He provides.
Then there are seasons when the circumstances don’t necessarily support the idea of a good and faithful God. Maybe a tougher financial season, a loss of a job, a long season of not sleeping well or a sudden illness in the family. These are the times when we are tested and also our beliefs are tested. Will we keep declaring that He is all that He says that He is, even though we don’t see it or feel like it?
“They didn’t even smell like smoke” – The story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
If you feel like you are in a tough season, first of all, it’s okay to feel, it’s okay to recognize it and it’s okay to ask for help. And secondly, you are in good company. The Bible gives us many examples of people who were in difficult situations; David fleeing Saul, Joseph in prison or the disciples after they thought Jesus had died.
Let’s look at one example of a story where life was not easy. We find this story in Daniel chapter 3.
What Can We Learn From Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are at this time in exile in Babylon, far from home and they had already once been treated to be killed. And in the beginning of this chapter, we see things taking a turn for the worse, a message goes out that everyone needs to bow down and worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue, and that anyone that refuses to do so will be thrown into the burning furnace.
The officials soon find out that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are refusing to bow down to the statue and they are thrown into the burning furnace, now made so hot that the people throwing them into the furnace are killed.
To his surprise King Nebuchadnezzar is watching the men walking around in the fire unharmed, and not just them, but a fourth person looking like a god. He shouts for them to get out of the fire and they do. The fire had not touched them, and they didn’t even smell like smoke.
The King is the first one to start praising the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abegnego, the one true God, and forbids the people to speak a word against Him.
These people were in a difficult situation, but in the end God got the glory. It wasn’t through the strength of human beings but the hand of God protecting them. Through the hardships and finally through the fire.
What To Do When Life Gets Hard?
Life will sooner or later bring us to a place that will feel like going through a fire, when we are not sure how much we will be left with in the end. But if we look at this story we can learn 2 things.
- They were not alone in the fire, there was someone else there with them. We are promised that God will never leave us, He might not keep us from the fire, but He will be there. Standing next to us.
- After they were brought out of the fire, they were unharmed and didn’t even smell like smoke. Let this be our prayer for our hearts when we go through tough seasons, that no fear, no bitterness, no harshness, no doubt would enter our hearts in these seasons. That we would find God even in the midst of it and that He would be given glory.
The enemy wants our hearts and he will do everything in his power for us to be marked by the fires of life. But he will not have the last word, he has been defeated. There is power in taking a stand against him!
Let this be our prayer; let not our lives and hearts be marked by fire but by a hunger to give Him glory! He is right there with you, in the fire. He will see you through and He will be glorified!
And friend, this season is not forever. Cling to Him!
