Loose

Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, “Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said unto the king, “True, O king.”

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.”

Okay, who can guess what Bible story this is? (You Bible College buffs don’t count.) It’s a very well-known story that you may have seen depicted on a flannel graph board when you were in VBS as a child. You guessed it! The Hebrew captives, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They refused to bow to the king’s idols and were cast into the fiery furnace because of it. I was listening to a sermon on cd and the preacher brought out this idea that they had been cast into the fire bound (all tied up) but they were visible within the fire loose (free from their shackles). And I thought, oh yeah, that’s me!

When I started on this journey to holiness, I was certain that the entirety of my anguish was condemnation from God. I thought I was being punished for something I couldn’t see or understand. I couldn’t feel the peace of God and I couldn’t comprehend why everything was so dark and awful. I was a complete mess emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and even physically. I had set myself up for a major crash without realizing it, and the crash felt like I’d been completely blindsided…by God. But the further I get away from it, the more clearly I can see it.

God has amazing ways of doing things. He sees us for who we are. He knows where we’re at. He appreciates the big picture. I still can’t say that I understand everything that happened last July or in the following painful weeks and months, to make such a claim would be to put myself on level with God. But I can say that God allowed it for my good, and that’s good enough for me. He lovingly crafted my furnace of affliction and has led me so gently through it. What a wonderful Savior! Like the Hebrew captives, He is in the fire with me. And like the Hebrew captives, I am no longer bound!

Here’s the exciting conclusion- Though the Hebrew children were still in the fiery furnace, they were there with Jesus and they were loose. They were free in the furnace to walk with God Himself, even though the fire was burning as hot as ever. Isn’t that exciting?! Even when we can’t feel God, even when He seems a million miles away, He’s right there in the fire and He can set us loose so we can walk with Him. It doesn’t really matter what your furnace looks like. It could be clinical depression. It could be grief over a loss in your life. It could be loneliness, illness, rejection, stagnation. Everyone’s journey is different, but God is ever the same, and He is always with us. He wants us to walk with Him even in the hard times. And by His grace, we no longer have to be bound by sin, by fear, by confusion. We can be made free in the fire. Praise God, I’ve been cut loose!