The king was absolutely furious. He ordered the furnace cranked up seven times hotter than usual. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were tightly bound and violently thrown right into the roaring inferno. But they didn't burn. The only things that turned to ash in that fire were the ropes binding their wrists. And the most breathtaking part of the story? They weren't alone. The king peered into the flames and saw a fourth man walking right in the middle of the fire. Sometimes, the Almighty doesn't reach down and magically extinguish the flames. Instead, He steps right into the furnace with us.
Let's be completely honest: suffering doesn't automatically make you a better person. But when you walk through the fire holding the hand of Jesus, the flames have a remarkable way of burning off the things that have been keeping you tied up. The desperate, exhausting need for people's approval. The obsessive desire to control everything. The fragile, false securities we lean our weight against. The fire is incredibly painful; there's no need to sugarcoat it. But you are not alone in the heat. When those boys walked out of the furnace, they were fully alive, but their chains were completely gone. God might not put out every fire in your life today, but He promises you will never, ever have to walk through it alone.