I Don't Look Like What I've Been Through

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We could stop right at the title, couldn't we?! No matter how old or young we are, we all have been through something that was hard. We all have been through something that we didn't think we could make it through. But look at us..we're still here! God brought us through. That's enough to give God praise for! In those "fiery" situations, we didn't think we would make it out. I know I have felt that way before, but I made it. You made it too! We had some people around us that didn't think we would make it either. They doubted us and counted us out, but God! Maybe they didn't know or forgot about the God we serve who is able to do more than we could ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). During those hard times, we also had to remind ourselves that God was able to bring us out those "fiery" situations that seemed impossible to come out of. Those situations that cut us deep, but we could still have a praise and smile through it all. Our God never changed and never will, so that's good news. The same God that brought us out before can bring us out again. I want you to keep the word "fiery" in mind as we focus our attention on the book of Daniel in the Bible. In Daniel 3, we see the king of Babylon makes a command that everyone should bow down and worship this tall statue he had built (v.1). Every time the music played, the people had to bow down to it (v.4-5). If the people didn't bow down and worship the statue, they were thrown into a burning fiery furnace (v.6). Ahh....notice there's the word "fiery." In other words, they were put in a place where there would be hot fire. If we get too close to fire, it can burn us. Just like any rule that is made, not everyone agrees with the rule. In Babylon, there were 3 men that did not agree with it and would not bow down to the statue. Their names were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (v.12). The king heard about it and had the three men brought to him to give them one more chance to bow down to the statue. Their answer was still no.  They said they knew their God was able to bring them out the fiery furnace. They said if He didn't bring them out, they still would not bow down to the statue set up (v.17-18). Remember when I mentioned earlier what happened when people refused to bow down?! Well, at this point, the King got really angry and had the furnace turned up 7 times hotter! So, the three men got thrown in. The furnace was so hot that the men that threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the furnace didn't even survive (v.19-22)! Even with that, we see God protecting them. Then the king noticed something strange: four men walking around in the furnace unharmed by the fire! He said the fourth man looked like the Son of God (v.24-25). When the king saw this, he called for them to come out. Indeed they came out! When they came out, they didn't smell like they had been in a fire at all. They didn't look like what they had been through! The fiery situations in our lives can come in different forms: loss of loved ones, divorce, illness, heartache, unemployment, brokenness. It may have looked impossible to get through, but God was with us the whole time and got us through just like he did the three men in the furnace. We all have a story to tell. I've had the fiery situations of loss of Mom, Dad and many other relatives, bullying, hurt, heartache, low self-esteem, lack of finances. It wasn't easy, but here I am! It's not easy as I still go through situations, but here I stand! I don't look like what I've been through and neither do you! So we all have a story to tell. Someone needs to know they can make it through. Someone needs to be encouraged and helped by your story. Someone needs to know it was all God. Currently, we're all going through the "fiery" situation of the quarantine. We'll make it through this too. God was the same before the quarantine that He is now and will be after. After the king in Daniel 3 saw that the men had not been harmed by the fire, he said, "There is no other God that can deliver after this sort." (v.29). He was right. Only God could have done it! Let's not forget to tell someone our story of how we came out of our "fiery" situation with God right there with us. When we think about it, we should give God praise! Others will take notice and say they don't look like what they've been through. No, we don't! We can stand boldly like the 3 men that came out the furnace knowing God was on their side. He's on our side too. We can truly say, "I don't look like what I've been through!"

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