Through the Fire.

All is Well - 36"x36", Mixed Media on canvas, ©2024. Elise Ehrenholz.

I was reminded today of the story in Daniel 3 about when in a fit of rage King Nebuchadnezzar threw Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into the fiery furnace for not bowing down to the image of gold he had created to be worshipped (Daniel 3:1-30). These three men resolved they would not bow down to any god except the One true God of their ancestors, and so when push came to shove in they went into the furnace. The Bible recounts something amazing though, something unexpected that defied the natural laws of the universe. This is how it unfolded. "Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, 'Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?' They answered and said to the king, 'True O king'. 'Look!' he answered, 'I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God'." As the story goes the three men were then called out of the furnace by the one who put them in there in the first place. They were not hurt at all, the hairs of their heads were not singed, nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them. Not even on them. 

Some would argue that this is just an antiquated story. Is this even still relevant in the 21st century? I say yes. As I have walked this walk of faith in Jesus, I have come to truly realise how the reality of God has always been just as the Bible depicts. This story and everything else in the Bible is all true, has always been true, even when I was unaware of it, even when I had no relationship with God at all, and even when I can't fully understand it. How do I know this? Because I've experienced the power of the promise of God. And because that is true, the rest must be true too. I am different because of my decision to accept the gospel of Jesus Christ that is communicated through the words of The Bible. The word of God changed my heart, it changed my life, and for the better. Even though my faith walk has had its ups and downs, which is to be expected by the way, I am irrevocably being changed from the inside out by the gospel that says Jesus rose from the dead. The fact remains that I was hopelessly lost without Jesus, but with Him I am most gloriously found, made a new creation. I have been given mind blowing promises from the eternal God who is, as I have discovered, the most beautiful person in the universe.

The Bible says that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). The same. Unchangeable. There is such a profound hope in that because just like how the sun continually shines on the Earth, God never fades even when the storms of life are whipped up and it feels like it will never be beautiful again. The clouds of even a perfect storm do not negate the fact of Him. He is still for us today just like He was for the three men in the text with His promises never being made null and void. He will always be exactly who He has been. Strong enough for me, strong enough for all of us. Unstoppable. In Him we are sealed unto that glorious day. And so this is the modern application for that ancient text of the three men who refused to bow down and were thrown into the fiery furnace. We can always have an expectant hope in Jesus. He's still doing what He did for those men all that time ago, He's still helping us to make it through and He is with us. 

"I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living." - Psalm 27:3

Have you made your decision to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour?

There is no better day than today.

"When you believed, you were marked with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His Glory." - Ephesians 1:13-14.

"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."Romans 10:9-10

"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." - John 6:29

Keep stretching your hands out to God dear hearts. Pour your heart out like a waterfall to Him. The road has surely been rough, but we are mighty in Him. Praise you Jesus. You did it all.

©2025. Elise Ehrenholz