But You Won’t Smell Like What You’ve Been Through!
Lately my continuous question to God is: “What do I do?” To be honest, I’m still trying to figure out the exact tangible thing. But he gave me two intangibles for sure… as uncomfortable as they are (because I’m always trying to do something): 1) Be still and 2) Stand firm. Today in particular when asking “What do I do”, he led me to Daniel 3 where we encounter our friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and my first thought was: “Hmm, Dad. I’m familiar with this story. What’s up?” But this time, lessons popped up all over the place.
(Now to actually apply it…) Anywho FOCUS.
First of all, I read it the first time through and the first thing that stood out to me was the title of this post, which is:
“They didn’t smell like what they’ve been through”.
In verse 28 of chapter 3, it says “And the satraps, the prefects, the governors, and the kings counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had ANY POWER over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come up them.” I’m not sure if you’ve been around a lot of smoke, but it’s it’s almost impossible to get out of your clothes immediately and definitely your hair. We know the miracle of their body not being harmed, but the fact they didn’t even smell like they had been threatened with death speaks volumes to God’s power, majesty, and delivering power.
Second, God undoubtedly uses one’s pride or arrogance to show that he’s the one true God. I mean, why would Nebuchadnezzar ever wake up one day and say: “I need a statue… and I need all of you to bow down to it.” Okay Nebu, do you. BUT God used that.
Third, not everyone is the same (and I have been learning that and need to humble out with it). The scripture says certain Chaldeans… not all Chaldeans, but certain Chaldeans. Not everyone is the same, so you can’t treat it as such. But these Chaldeans were not upset because Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not bow down to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue; I’m sure they could care less. But they were jealous, and consequently decided to snitch because of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s status. They said “There are certain Jews, who you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” What we see here is that these Chaldeans had time, but more importantly, they were upset about their position. They said “the men you appointed over the affairs in Babylon.” But when it was all said and done, these three men got promoted.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had favor on their lives. Earlier in the chapter, it said in verse 6 that “Whoever does not worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.” But when Nebuchadnezzar found out that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not worship, he asked them and gave them opportunity. Why would the rules change for them? Because God needed them to be able to give their testimony BEFORE they were through their trial. Backwards, right?
It’s important to note that this is the last time that these three men spoke. They testified and let God do the rest. I wonder how much time and energy we could save if this was our heart posture.
Now, these three men are some gangstas. The first thing they said to the king was that “We have no need to answer you in this matter.” I don’t know about you, but if I am being threatened with death… a fiery death at that, my faith would be shaky and I would definitely not be that bold. But they knew the God they served. Then they said the infamous line that our God will deliver us, and even if he doesn’t, we will not bow down.
It says that Nebuchadnezzar not only got angry, but his facial expression changed. That’s not regular; that’s possession. And this is confirmed through him heating up the furnace 7 times the heat, which is cruel. But the crueler the act, the more powerful God can come through.
Something that stood out to me was that Nebuchadnezzar ordered his mightiest men to bind up three men… who didn’t even seem like they put up a struggle. In the process of binding these three men, the binders lost their lives. But this reminded me of Pharoah and the Israelites. Pharoah got his mightiest men and best chariots to chase the physically powerless Israelites, but they had God on their side, which trumped the power of the mightiest of men.
“In the process to destroy you, powerful men will bring in accomplices. But it only ends in destruction, if you have God on your side.”
It says Nebuchadnezzar got up in haste. He literally had to see if he was tripping… and he wasn’t. He said there is a fourth in there that looks like the son of gods. I can finish the post right here. When you stand firm if who you are, what you believe, and most importantly, who you believe God to be, you’ll see him come through for you, but others will also see God come through for you.
You may be going through the fire, but trust, THE Son of God, is with you walking around with you, protecting you, making sure not a hair on your hair is singed and that when you get out, you wont smell like what you been through.
You know the best part of it all? They did not speak a word after they had their encounter with Nebuchadnezzar. He did the talking for God and proclaimed that if anyone said a word about the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they would have consequences. This trial led to their promotion.
Recap
God will use those in power, pride, and arrogance for his glory to show that he is the one true God
God will also use people who are envious to set what they “think” is a trap, but is really your promotion
You need to stand firm. No matter what. No matter the threat. Stand firm in who you know God to be
When it’s all said and done, Jesus will be with you in your greatest trial and you won’t look or smell like what you’ve been through
Your endurance in the fire will lead to your promotion
