The Fourth Man
(From July 2003)
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (friends of Daniel) had defied the law
of the King of Babylon. They refused to worship his gods of gold. In a fit
of anger, he ordered them thrown into a fiery furnace so hot that it killed
the soldiers who were to throw these men, bound with ropes, into the
furnace. The king jumped up in amazement at the sight of them walking
in the furnace, unbound, unharmed...and with a fourth man. A man who
looked like a son of a God! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had said
(when told they'd be thrown into a fire), that their God would save them.
And, even if He doesn't, we won't worship your gods of gold.
(paraphrased, from Daniel 3:17).
My friend Kim woke with a clear voice in her head Tuesday morning,
telling her to read the book of Daniel. She had no idea why, or how the
story of the fiery furnace would relate to her. She would soon find out.
She had to undergo a gastroscopy Wednesday morning, which showed
a couple of amazing things. One was pink tissue where another test
had shown ulcers, the other was a hiatal hernia that wasn't expected to
be found. This is treatable. The next trial was to be one of the worst in
her life.
She was scheduled for an Iron transfusion in the afternoon. Within 30
seconds, her stomach began to hurt and she became extremely
nauseated. She told the nurse. Then her throat started to constrict, she
was severely short of breath, she felt like she was on fire, her heart
began fibrillating (Kim is a nurse). As she was telling the nurse how she
felt, she began to see white crystals in front of her eyes, she began to
see only fiery red, then black. She shouted "I'm going out". That's all
she remembers...except that she saw the smiling face of her daughter
looking at her before she passed out, (Natalie wasn't there).
She didn't know what happened, but the room filled with nurses, they
put her on oxygen and whatever else was needed to bring her back. In
her words: "I don't know what all they did.... But I made it.... THROUGH
THE FIERY RED FURNACE!" Her father, sister, friends who were with
her said that when she went into this 'anaphylactic' shock, her whole
body turned deep red from her face and ears to her toes. She says:
"God had to be the "4th man" there with me in my own furnace. Little
did I realize on Tuesday that His word was a premonition of things to
come. But Steve, He was right there with me through the whole ordeal.
I truly was close to death, but he brought me through it! Praise God!!!"
Kim gave me permission to share this with all of you. It's her hope that
it may lift someone. She wants us all to know what she learned from
this: "That obedience to God's will, showering Him with worship and
praise, listening for His direction is a must! And He will always be that
fourth person in the fire with her and with us."
Father, thank You that You are in the fire with us. That no trial, ordeal
or test we undergo is suffered alone. Help us to always remember that
You are with us. Thank You for lessons learned and shared. Thank You
that we can always count on You, a living God to be with us in anything.
There are no false gods for us, no gods of gold...help us to have the
faith and determination of Daniel and his friends to defy false gods in
every aspect of our lives. Forgive our sins as we forgive, give us what
we need for this day, protect us and deliver us from evil. May Your name
be praised! In Jesus' name we pray together.... Amen.
Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace
and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the
Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and
Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors
and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had
not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their
robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
Daniel 3:26,27 NIV
Steve ___________________
© Steven Green 2003
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