Feeling Stuck in the Fire

When you’re feeling stuck in the fire, it’s easy to assume God has left you, but the truth is, He’s right there with you. This powerful article looks at how trials can break chains, deepen faith, and draw us closer to God’s presence, just like He did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. If you’re in a season of hardship, this is a reminder that the fire may be the very place where your freedom begins.

 

God uses hardships not to destroy you, but to strengthen, purify, and set you free.

We usually pray for God to keep us out of the fire, don’t we?

“Lord, please take this away.” “Spare me from this pain.” “Lord, I can’t handle this.”

And it’s not wrong to ask. After all, the Bible promises, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19 NKJV).

But sometimes … God doesn’t take us out of the trial. Sometimes, He steps into it with us.

Let me tell you a story you probably know—but there’s a twist worth noticing …

In Daniel chapter 3 (NKJV), King Nebuchadnezzar made a huge, golden image that everyone was commanded to bow down before. Three young Hebrew men—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego—refused to worship the king’s image, and they were thrown into the fiery furnace.

When throwing these men into the furnace, the king mocked them and asked, “Who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?” (v. 15).

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered:

Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up (vs. 17–18).

These men knew the Lord was able to deliver them from their fiery trial. But even if He didn’t, they had resolved not to compromise their faith.

Uncompromising Devotion

Pause to put yourself in their position. Would you be willing to bow down to the king’s image in order to avoid the fiery furnace? Or what if machete-wielding terrorists threatened to cut off your head unless you renounced your devotion to Jesus Christ?

These young Jewish men were committed to pleasing God rather than the king. They refused to squeeze into the mold of the surrounding culture—even if it meant paying with their lives.

I’m convinced that much of the bondage people suffer is the result of people pleasing, wanting to fit in with the crowd. First, the compromises are small, but whenever you give the devil an inch, he always takes a mile. There’s an old maxim that says, “Sin starts as a cobweb, but soon becomes a cable.”

The king was so infuriated that he heated the furnace seven times hotter than usual. Perhaps it seems that way for you today. Like the young men in this story, you’ve tried to be faithful to God, but you find yourself in a fiery furnace nevertheless. If so, don’t despair. The story isn’t over yet!

Freed from Bondage

The three men were in bondage when they were thrown into the fire: “These men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace” (v. 21). Did you get that? They “fell down bound” (v. 23).

Were you bound when you entered your fiery trial? Maybe your bondage was obvious, like an addiction, or hidden in your heart—fear, anger, loneliness, or depression.

Although it’s hard to believe this while you’re going through your trials, the fire may actually turn out to be your friend.

Nebuchadnezzar looked into the furnace, expecting to see burning flesh. Instead, he was astonished:

Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? … I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God (vs. 24–25).

What a powerful story! Yes, we sometimes may be thrown into the fire of affliction, even when we’ve done all we can to obey the Lord. However, just as these men experienced, the Son of God will be in the fire with us! He is Immanuel (Matthew 1:23), and He’s promised to never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

The king’s representatives were shocked when “they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them” (v. 27). Although God didn’t spare them from the flames, the fire had no power to harm them. When they were delivered out of the furnace, they didn’t even have the smell of smoke on them!

Fear Not!

I don’t know what you’re going through today, friend. Instead of a literal furnace, you may be experiencing the fires of bankruptcy, divorce, illness, depression, or recovery from addiction.

But don’t miss my favorite part of this story. Not only did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego get delivered from the furnace—they were also set free from everything that had bound them before being put in the fire!

You can be confident that the fire isn’t sent into your life to destroy you, but to set you free. The Lord promises in Isaiah 43:2, “When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (NKJV).

You see, there’s no need to fear, for God will be with you through the fiery trials of life. And after you’ve been tested, you’ll come out like pure gold—free indeed (Job 23:10).

Recognizing God’s Purpose

Every trial has a reason. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego knew this was a test of their faith. You may not understand your trial now, but the Bible says, “It is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 NASB).

Even in desperation, God has a step-by-step plan to take you from crisis to triumph. Trials build character and strength. Have you ever seen a butterfly struggle to escape its cocoon? It’s in the fight for freedom that its wings are strengthened to fly.

Scripture declares you can rejoice in hard times, “Knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts” (Romans 5:3–5 NKJV). It’s all part of God’s plan.

Like sandpaper smoothing fine furniture, trials refine us into Christ’s likeness. The psalmist understood this, saying, “You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined” (Psalm 66:10 NKJV). The process may be painful, but the outcome is magnificent.

So don’t be surprised when life is tested by fire. Whatever is made of wood, hay, or stubble will burn. But what remains will be something of great value—gold, silver, and precious jewels to lay at Jesus’ feet (1 Corinthians 3:12–14).

Whatever you are facing today, I want to encourage you—God is at work! You are not alone. Hold on to hope because He is faithful. And when you look back, you’ll see that the fire didn’t destroy you—it set you free.

God bless you,

David Cerullo

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