I’m not alone in the fire

I could not sleep last night. This is not normal for me, I’m generally blessed with good sleep (as long as the kids or the job doesn’t wake me up.) But my mind has been heavy with the events of the last 12 months, the last week, my Bible studies of the last several days…like most people…but then the Scriptural passage my husband and I read last night really set my head into thinking overload. I am pretty good (even better than most, I’d say) at putting worry away….but God and I have an understanding that if ‘poor sleep’ goes beyond worry, then it’s God speaking to me.

This particular time, as my heart was troubled, the line from a popular Christian Song by Hillsong United played in my head…”There was another in the fire/standing next to me”

See, my studies have taken me to the books of Daniel and Revelation, books that I struggle with because I’ve been told fearful things about them, I’ve been told what I’m supposed to believe in them, and I’ve read them and gotten lost and it’s easier to just flip the pages to another book. But with the events around us, the attitudes of people, the political fervor…I’m convinced that these books cannot be ignored anymore.

So when the line played in my mind last night, the clear fear in my mind and that I see around me is that ‘it’s not easy to be alone.’ While social media has been instrumental in assisting people to find others who will join their fight/belief/movement (think the term ‘going viral’)….and bashing those who stand alone….the need to have one’s cause supported by others is as old as Adam and Eve and eating of the forbidden fruit.

This morning I flipped my Bible open to the book of Daniel….and started reading about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream ‘of a Tree’ in chapter 4, and then subsequently Daniel’s interpretation of it.

It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me…. I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous.

Daniel goes on to tell the mightiest king of that time that he had become like a cruel and prosperous tree that God would cut down and humble because of his pride and self-exultation, his superiority and failure to recognize God as the King who is the giver of all good things.

“Therefore, O king, be pleased to accept my advice: renounce your sins by doing what is right, and your wickedness by being kind to the oppressed. It may be that then your prosperity will continue.”

All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. Twelve months later, as the king was walking on the roof…he said “is not this the great Babylon I have built….”

That last part, the ‘twelve months later’ part, caught my interest. I see it all the time….we see that someone is interested in changing right after a diagnosis, right after a conviction, right after their lives were turned upside down….but twelve months later…..NOT SO MUCH.

What does this have to do with Fire? Turn back to Daniel chapter 3….part of my thoughts yesterday and last night were very self-centered….what have I done…what should I do….look at MY family…don’t make ME look bad. Well, here is the same King, who has set up a ninety foot tall gold statue which he has determined that all should look upon and worship or at least acknowledge. And as we know, there were three men who DID NOT bow. Now understand this….THERE WERE OTHERS WHO DID NOT WANT TO BOW EITHER, but they did. Verse 7 “Therefore, as soon as they heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations and men of every language fell down and worshiped the image….” Who were these people of ‘every language’? They were likely similar to the three men…persons of other countries that had been conquered by this mighty King…who had been permitted to live instead of die…who had been educated (in this day we’d say ‘indoctrinated’) into the ways of Babylon….and were now living in this prosperous country. Away from their families (who may have perished), away from their homes (which were destroyed), away from their churches (though they were given others they could cling to)….now being told to ‘join this movement.’ And we can be certain that ‘this movement’ wasn’t a popular one….because there was the threat of DEATH if you did not join. There is no musical group that says ‘listen to our music or else you die.’ This was forced worship.

But these three, who had been allowed to prosper despite the circumstances, who still worshipped their God, who still ate their own foods…said they could not join this movement….and thus were made an example of by an enraged authority. (Read Chapter 3 for yourself, so powerful!). These men had stood for right all along…and had been honored by both God and by the local governing authority. From what we’re told these ‘slaves’ had risen high enough in kingly estimation that they were given to govern over affairs of Babylon. I do wonder that, when they heard a proclamation that directly went against their personal beliefs, if a thought went through their heads that they were ‘protected’ from the threat because they had been honored. They possibly thought the authority had softened towards their beliefs, maybe he was being converted, maybe he was actually nice…. But it became quickly apparent that all the previous ‘good’ was nothing when they were the ones to disobey, to undermine his authority. Before they knew it they were bound and being hurled into certain death.

“O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

…..

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement…. He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”

The recognition of this world….the honor…the wealth…the worship…the Facebook ‘likes’….the applause…the number of ‘thank-yous’…how many friends (real or pretend)…your proximity to authority….while there is NOTHING WRONG with these…if AT ANY TIME they take precedence over what we know to be right AND take attention away from God, they will be our downfall and are worship of another being. And when we are forced to make a decision which very well may be between life and death (again, reading Daniel and Revelation, this is not just something out of the movies)….may we find rest with the assurance that God-Himself is all-powerful and willing to join us in the Fire.