The enemy always has scheduled the most vile and intense plans for us as Christians. In Psa 34:19 it tells us that, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.”
As children of the most high God, we need to focus on the promise – not the problem. We need to meditate on “what thus saith the Lord”. But it’s hard at times, isn’t it?
As the enemy inflicts more pain, more threats, more discomfort, the human body rebels at going to a place in the spirit. It is natural to think of ways and means to get out of the trouble. We are children who have been taught to focus on the problem and stay focused until we figure a way out.
In pain, in turmoil and in tribulation – as people who are “born again” – we must retrain our minds and our focus to step into the spiritual realm. We must focus on the promises of a God we can not see rather than a problem that is attacking our flesh.
This morning I was visiting the book of Daniel and a scripture really stood out:
Dan 3:21 Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Here were natural men – wearing the garments of the natural… “bound in their natural garments” – and placed into a situation that was very real, very natural and very threatening. The intent was that they were not only to be killed, but the intention was to burned them to ash.
According to John 10 – the enemy comes with no other purpose but to kill. To steal. And to destroy.
As we continue the story in Daniel:
Dan 3:23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
They were cast down. The Bible says they “fell down” into the middle of the trial. But these men were called of God, ordained of God, purposed of God and strengthened of God.
Dan 3:25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
These men – in the midst of one of the darkest trials in their life – called upon the Lord and Jesus was there. As He appeared to them, He also appeared to those who threw them in the fire. We must never forget that when we have Jesus walking with us in the midst of a trial, the world will see that same Jesus in us – AND in our trial.
In the trial – the world sees us “cast” or “thrown” into the fire. They see us as we “fall down” into the heat of that tribulation. If we focus on, gather in the name of and call upon Jesus – He comes into the trial with us. The world will then see us “arise”, “walking” and “loosed”. They will see the evidence of a LIVING GOD… not a fable or a character in history, who was simply a “good man”.
Do we show Jesus alive and walking with us today? Some of us show it in church or with our Christian friends, but what do the people on your jobs see? What do the enemies that threw you under the bus see? What does the world see and hear when you are in the dire fire of your affliction?
2Co_3:2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
People are reading you like a book. And… others will ask what THEY are reading. We can portray the living Christ or we can portray a form of godliness while denying the power of His reality. Someone’s watching, or should I say… shhhh, someone’s reading.
Worship with me today:
Streetfire Ministries 