There is a Fourth
Man in the Fire
By Kathi Pelton
Have any of you felt like you have been in the fiery furnace
lately? My husband and I have surely
been experiencing a "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego" season. But I want you to know that you are not
alone, because there is a fourth Man in your furnace!
Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of
fury and his facial expression was changed [to antagonism] against Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he commanded that the furnace should be heated
seven times hotter than it was usually heated.
And he commanded the strongest men in his army to bind Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
Then these [three] men were
bound in their cloaks, their tunics or undergarments, their turbans, and their
other clothing, and they were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Therefore because the king's commandment was
urgent and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame and sparks from the fire
killed those men who handled Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, fell down bound into the burning fiery furnace.
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king
[saw and] was astounded, and he jumped up and said to his counselors, Did we
not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered, True, O
king. He answered, Behold, I see four
men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt! And the
form of the fourth is like a son of the gods!
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to
the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. Then
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, the deputies, the governors,
and the king's counselors gathered around together and saw these men--that the
fire had no power upon their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed;
neither were their garments scorched or changed in color or condition, nor had
even the smell of smoke clung to them.
Daniel 3:
13-27
Who's Watching You?
During this time in the furnace my husband and I have realized
that we are being watched. Our five kids
are watching us, our peers are watching us, our neighbors are watching us, and
even some of you have been watching us.
Just as Nebuchadnezzar and all of those gathered to worship the king's
golden image were watching Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, so are many people
watching you as you go through your personal fiery furnace.
Though it appears our three heroes who dared to stand when
everyone else bowed didn't fear, I must admit that I needed to make a concerted
effort to get my eyes off the flames. Just
as Nebuchadnezzar ordered the furnace to be heated seven times hotter than
usual, Jeff and I have felt that our furnace has been turned up at least seven
times! What began with some moderate to
severe financial difficulties ended up with us losing our house, losing our
car, losing our jobs and just to top it off-losing our cat (you cat lovers will
understand).
I don't share this to terrify you or to ask for sympathy, but to
remind all of us that are in the fiery furnace that "there is a fourth man"! Though my husband and I have no natural means
of escape or deliverance, God was (and is) among us! When we lost our home, God provided an even
better one, when we lost our car some friends loaned us a better vehicle to use
until we are able to get another one, and since losing our jobs, God has provided
miraculously for our family each and every day.
God even brought our cat back three weeks later to our new home. We are still in the midst of many miracles.
Get Your Eyes off the Flames
Can you see the Fourth Man in your furnace, or can you only see the
flames? Our natural eyes will focus on
the flames (circumstances) surrounding us, but if we will look with the eyes of
our spirits, we will find that Jesus is with us. Though God did not spare us from facing the
flames, the flames had no power over us.
If you were to see us today, the smell of smoke is not upon us; only the
smell of our Deliverer.
This is a time to have eyes to see your Deliverer. Though the enemy is being allowed to turn up
the heat in many of your lives, God fully intends to deliver you and to show
many that He will never forsake you. I
am sure that there have been some who were watching our family and saying,
"Wow, they are losing everything! Where
is God? What have they done wrong?" And to
be honest, there have been days we asked the same questions. If I allowed myself to gaze upon the flames
surrounding us, it was then that I would feel the heat and pain. But as long as I kept my eyes upon the Lord
then I was at peace and there was no heat and no pain.
Testimonies from the Furnace
God is not only building a greater level of faith and confidence in His
people, but He is also displaying His faithfulness and power to all who are
watching. I could write a book about the
miracles that our family has seen over the past year. Our furnace time is not quite over, but the
miracles don't seem to run out. I often
receive hundreds of letters each month from people all over the world telling
me stories of the miracles that they are seeing in the midst of terrible
circumstances. Truly God is in our
midst!
The testimonies that come from the Body of Christ in this season will be
life changing for so many. They will
bring prodigals home; they will bring the lost to Christ; they will bring hope
to the hopeless and renewed faith to those who doubt. The faith that is being built up in God's
people will usher in a time of miracles such as our generation has never
seen. I know that many things that would
usher me into fear in past seasons are now under my feet. I am not under fear but fear is under
me. This is the season of the
overcomer! The testimonies of overcoming
adversity will be heard around the world.
We will hear how God was in the midst of the fiery trials that many are
currently facing. Remember what happened
to King Nebuchadnezzar after Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of
the furnace? Read on: Then Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the God
of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Who has sent His angel and delivered His
servants who believed in, trusted in, and relied on Him! And they set aside the
king's command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god
except their own God.
Therefore I make a decree that
any people, nation, and language that speaks anything amiss against the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be cut in pieces and their houses be made
a dunghill, for there is no other God who can deliver in this way! Daniel 3: 28-29
Ungodly men (including kings) come to trust in the Lord! The fear of the Lord becomes bigger than the
fear of the flames. There truly is no
other God who can deliver in the way that our God does.
Angels Are Warring For You
The other day as I was soaking in the Lord's presence I had an amazing
and intimate experience. I was taken to a
most beautiful and peaceful place, in green pastures and by still waters. There the Lord began to minister to me very
tenderly. He washed me and comforted me
in ways that only He could. Then He
began to hold me like a mother would hold her infant child. I don't ever remember being held like that
before, and it healed something so very deep.
But all the while that the Lord was ministering to me I was aware of
angelic activity going on around me. At
one point while He was holding me I saw angels with wings that looked as though
they were made of sheet metal, but they were actually shields. They were blocking arrows coming my way. Other, similar-looking angels were making
loud crashing sounds that resembled thunder, and these sounds seemed to cause
the enemy to flee. Other angels were
bringing water, oils and fragrances to pour over me as the Lord ministered to
me. All of these angels were encircling
me so that I could not see the enemy at all. All I could see was Jesus and the
angels. It was truly an amazing
experience.
As I came out of this time I realized that this was not only for
me, but God has His angels warring for His people who are facing fierce warfare
at this time. He also has angels that
are ministering to us at this time. We
are being delivered and healed all at the same time. Just as the Lord was being very intimate with
me in the midst of great warfare, I did not have to engage in the warfare, only
in the intimacy.
The Lord will fight for you, and you shall
hold your peace and remain at rest.
Exodus
14:14
This is our weapon of warfare: INTIMACY! The Lord will fight for us as we are kept in
His peace and rest-in stillness and quietness.
So, allow the Lord to take you to green meadows and still waters, and
watch His deliverance win the war for you.
Peace Be With You-
Kathi Pelton
Visitor Comments (0)
