School of Awakening the MP3 Download Course
By Jeremy Lopez
When I sit with the stories of Scripture, I am struck by how often God’s deliverance looks different than what I might hope for. My heart wants God to keep me from the trial, the storm, the furnace, or the den. But again and again, the Bible reminds me that God’s way is not to spare me from every hardship. It is, at times, to spare me in it.
Think about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These young men stood boldly for God, refusing to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. In return, they faced the fiery furnace. They weren’t spared from being thrown in. They were spared in it. The fire was real, the heat was unbearable, and yet, in the very midst of the flames, there appeared One “like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:25). The presence of God was with them in the fire, and that presence turned the place of death into a place of deliverance.
Or look at Daniel himself. His faithfulness to prayer brought him face-to-face with a den of hungry lions. God didn’t close the mouths of Daniel’s accusers. He didn’t prevent the king from issuing the decree. He didn’t stop Daniel from being lowered into that pit. But in the den, itself, surrounded by lions, Daniel was spared. Scripture says, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths” (Daniel 6:22). Daniel wasn’t spared the trial; he was spared in the trial.
That truth speaks volumes into our lives. We want God to keep us from the diagnosis, from the heartbreak, from the loss, from the fire, from the lions. But often, God allows us to walk through those very things, not to destroy us, but to display His power in the middle of them. His presence doesn’t always remove the storm, but it will always sustain us in it.
Jesus Himself reminded us: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). Trouble is not optional in this life. The fire and the lions are part of the journey. But the promise is greater: His overcoming presence is with us.
So, if you find yourself today asking, “Why didn’t God keep me out of this?” remember this truth: He may be choosing to reveal His glory by keeping you through it. He may be showing you that His peace is stronger than the chaos, His protection greater than the danger, and His presence more powerful than the pain.
God doesn’t just deliver us from. Sometimes, He delivers us through. And in those moments, we discover the deepest truth of all, that the God who walks with us in the fire and who stands guard in the lion’s den, is the same God who promises never to leave us nor forsake us.
So, whatever your furnace looks like, whatever lions surround you, know this and trust this: you are not alone. God’s presence is greater than the fire, greater than the lions, greater than the trial itself. And when you come out on the other side, you will know Him in a way you never could have known if you had been spared from it altogether.
Patrick Carden
