Hardships and Deliverance: A Reflection of the Fiery Furnace

Written by Ashley Hyslop The older I get, the more it becomes abundantly clear that this life is riddled with hardships and difficulties. However, I have also seen firsthand that through these trials our faith is truly tested, and how this is actually a good thing! The last few years of my life have been the most challenging thus far. Ranging from losing loved ones to wondering if God even hears my cries, my first few years out of college and in the “adult world” have oftentimes left me struggling to stand on my own two feet. However, it is through these struggles that I resonate now more than ever with an analogy given to me in my Old Testament Survey class back in 10th grade. 

The analogy reflects on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and specifically their deliverance from the fiery furnace. 

For some context, this story follows Babylon’s first attack on Jerusalem (2 Kings 24). A group of Israelites were exiled into Babylon, three of which were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, sent out a decree that everyone was to fall down and worship a golden idol he had built, and those who did not comply would be thrown into a blazing furnace (Daniel 3:4-6). Because of their allegiance to God, the three men did not obey this command and in turn were thrown into the furnace. They had faith that the Lord was able to deliver them, even though they didn’t know if He would. 

“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” -Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV) 

Infuriated, Nebuchadnezzar ordered for the furnace to be made seven times hotter. What happened next was nothing short of astonishing. In addition to not a single hair being scorched on these men, there was a fourth man who appeared in the furnace, speculated to be Christ Himself. 

It was this shocking outcome that allowed Nebuchadnezzar to see the power of God and acknowledge Him as the One True God. Further, the king prohibited anyone to speak against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Daniel 3:28-29). 

Now, onto that analogy. 

This fiery furnace can represent hardships in our own lives. There are functionally 3 main ways that we ourselves can be delivered from the “fire”—and they each affect our faith differently: 

1. We are delivered FROM the fire and our faith is BUILT. 

2. We are delivered THROUGH the fire and our faith is REFINED. 

3. We are delivered BY the fire, straight into the arms of Jesus, and our faith is PERFECTED.

The three men likely wanted to be delivered by #1 but they were delivered by #2. They refused to worship the false idol even though they knew they could be delivered by #3. It is this perspective of hardships and deliverance that has helped me make it through some of my toughest days. It reminds me that, no matter how intense this “fire” is, that God will truly use it for His good in one way or another. There is purpose in our suffering even though we may not know the outcome upfront! What’s more is that this deliverance serves as a testament to God’s power in the lives of those around us in the same way it did to king Nebuchadnezzar. It is my prayer that, when I or my fellow brothers or sisters are suffering, they would hold fast to their faith and remember that the Lord is with them in the midst of it all—and that He will use it to bring us closer to Him.