Fresh Start Devotionals

Fellowship in the Fire Shadrach, Meshach and Abednago probably had to spell their name every time they wanted to make reservations at a restaurant or enroll in a class. I’m pretty lucky, my parents gave me a simple name and most people can already spell it. How do you think Shadrach, Meshach and Abednago became buddies? Maybe all the other kids teased them at school because of their names and they found solace with each other’s misery. The truth is, they had bigger problems than constantly having to spell their name. Things weren’t going too well for them. King Nebuchadnezzar-- (now there’s a name—can you imagine it on the back of a football uniform?)—made a golden statue of himself and demanded that everyone in Babylon worship the statue. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednago refused to worship the idol because of their faith in God. King Nebby got hot and decided Shad, Mesh and Abe should feel the fire of his wrath. He commanded his soldiers to throw them into a furnace that was seven times hotter than normal. Freeze! Soldiers, before you throw them into the fire, I’ve got a question for you. Who do you think will walk away from the furnace—you, or Shad, Mesh and Abe? WRONG! The soldiers, though they were valiant, brave and strong were overcome by the heat and died. The three faithful men were joined in the fire by the Lord and they survived. Things are not always as they seem. Hold on to your faith, don’t despair, nothing will happen to you that God does not allow. Who knows, you might just discover a new fellowship with God in the midst of the fire. Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).