Our Time in the Furnace

Readings: Daniel 3:8-25, I Corinthians 5:7-8, Mark 16:1-7

I think we've all had times in our lives that, at least on a figurative level, we feel we've been dropped in the furnace.  In Daniel, we read the account of the three believers being literally thrown into the furnace after it had been make so hot that it killed the soldiers who tossed the three in. Yet, as the King and his followers viewed from a safe distance, the three men (actually a fourth appeared) walked around the furnace area, unharmed. Complete protection from the heat.

There are times throughout life that we get, simply put, burnt. Well, singed at the very least. We go about our lives, day after day, humming along to our routines and knowing that things are generally okay. Then we smell the acrid smoke creeping in...the heat starts rising. How do these things just come out of nowhere? In retrospect, they were always there...the flames just hadn't spread to encompass us yet. But now it has; what do we do?

As difficult as it is...we have the faith of the three in the furnace. We keep our cool and start leaning very heavily on the infinite power of God. We pray and we are thankful for the blessing of discovery...now we begin the process of cooling the unbearable heat with God's guidance.

I Corinthians speaks of us becoming the "bread of sincerity and truth" (v.8). These days we seem to be inundated with "expanded" ways of thinking. We're not a nice person unless we're accepting of everything that our friends, family, and acquaintances favor. Rather than accepting our truths in their simplest forms, we tend to want them to be softened to make us more comfortable. Unfortunately, the most sincere truths are many times more like the unleavened bread--simple and direct. Not as tasty; not as pleasing. And sometimes, those truths make us feel that we've been once again thrown into  that furnace. We remind ourselves to reach out to God. The situation won't likely get immediately less frustrating or miserable, but we now have hope for that essential guidance that will being things to resolution. 

Mark 16: 1-7 is a translation of the resurrection. What a relief to us that the tomb is empty. Christ is back in control. When the furnace gets too hot, when the bread of sincerity and truth is too difficult to swallow, we lean heavily on our Savior and he cools our brows and makes our paths smoother. 

We don't get do-overs in real life, but if we only ask we do get guidance through the hot spots. There's a great deal of relief in that knowledge.

Peace be with you.