With God's Own Faith, We Walk Through Every Fire

By spiritual coincidence, while admiring the faith of the Meshach, Shadrach, and Abed-nego, I was also reading the following verses in Isaiah 43:

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." (Isaiah 43: 1-2)

I was intrigued by the second verse, in which the Lord promised His people that they would walk through fire, yet not be burned. The very text reminded me of the three Hebrews who survived the fiery furnace:

"Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

"And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellers, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them." (Daniel 3: 2-27)

I believe that the three Hebrew children heard, received, and believed the words from Isaiah the prophet, who preached  to the Israelite captivity in Babylon. Isaiah 39 details the reign of Hezekiah, the last great king of Judah, then Isaiah 40 and onward prophesies of the Coming Messiah. The Lord speaks of redemption.

Now faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ (Romans 10: 17). The three Hebrew children heard that they were redeemed, they were reminded of their status before God, as righteous people. And one of the promises for righteous people: “You will walk through the fire, and you will not be burned.”

These three Hebrew children did not have faith in themselves, or in their faith -- as Job did. They had faith in God, that through His word delivered by the prophet Isaiah, they believed that the Lord would protect them.

With assured confidence, therefore, the three Hebrew children could stand up to the King of Babylon, because they knew that they stood with the King of Kings, who had redeemed His people out of Egypt, as the Israelites utterly spoiled their slave-masters and then the Lord wiped out the rampaging and pursuing Egyptians. If God could do all that, then He would certainly save them from a fiery furnace.

Today, the believer has a greater assurance. God sent His own Son, who bore the fiery wrath of God's judgment. God's Son became sin, that we may be redeemed from Sin and the Curse of the Law. He endured intense heat, saying, “I thirst” God sent His own Son to die for us, to make us one and righteous before Him. If God spared not His own Son, will he not freely give us all things with Him? (Romans 8: 31-32)

Not only does God promise to take care of us through all things, but He grants to us the same faith as His own Son, Jesus Christ (Galatians 2: 21). Indeed, we are on holier ground, in complete righteous standing before God, filled with the Holy Spirit.

Just as Christ appeared in the fire with the three believing Children (Daniel 3: 24-25), so Christ is now in you, and will neither leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13: 5). Take God at His Word. You can trust with absolute, unshakable certainty that God will save you through whatever trial you are going through. Rest in the knowledge that you are redeemed in Him, and that as a redeemed and righteous child of God, you will indeed walk through the fire, and you will not be burned.