Look at Us
“Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?” said the Pharaoh. “I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go” (Ex. 5:2). God had given Moses the power and authority to deliver His message, how bold of Pharoah to deny His command but his denial would not stop God from getting through. Pharaoh would listen, one way or another.
Believers should see God in everything, yet those who deny God ignore His authority, sovereignty, and magnificence. People may refuse to see God but they cannot help but to see us. We may be the only evidence of Jesus they will ever find, the only Bible they will ever read (2 Cor. 3:1-3). Like Moses, we have the opportunity to show others who God is by allowing His power and authority to be displayed in our lives (Ex.7:1).
King Nebuchadnezzar sat and watched. He wanted to see the demise of the three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who had refused to bow and worship the golden image. They made it clear that they worshipped no other gods besides the God of Israel. Their God had the power to deliver them from any situation (Dan. 3:16-18). Suffice it to say, that was not the answer Nebuchadnezzar wanted to hear. He sentenced them to the fiery furnace and even made it seven times hotter than usual. The furnace was so hot that Nebuchadnezzar’s men were killed while putting the three Hebrew boys in the fire (23). “Where is your God now?” Nebuchadnezzar must have thought but then the most peculiar thing happened… singing. Was that singing he heard? Were the three Hebrew boys singing in the midst of the fire? Impossible!! Not only were they singing but there were four figures in the furnace instead of three. Nebuchadnezzar looked closely at the fourth man in the fire, he recognized Him; He was the Son of God (24-25).
God is the Creator of the universe; Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world; when you see Him, you know who He is (Matt. 8:28-34). Nebuchadnezzar knew who He was and had a sudden change of heart after witnessing God's power. “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego,” he said, acknowledging the greatness of the Hebrew God (28). Blessed be the God who inspired such hope that the men could sing in the fiery furnace. Blessed be the God to whom these young men were so devoted that they would rather lose their lives than betray their faith. Blessed be the God who did not dispatch His angels for the boys but showed up Himself. Blessed be the God whose grace and mercy set them free from their fiery trial, without even the smell of smoke.
There is something to be said about how we act during a trial. We preach about God to others daily but then a trial arrives and all of a sudden, we lose our religion. Others look at us to see if the God we could not shut up about will actually come through. Some take joy in our trials, and may even look forward to making it seven times hotter, I mean, harder for us. They take a front-row seat because they want to see us burn. Then, there are others who may want to see if God works for us so they can try Him too. No matter the reason, they are looking, all of them are looking at us and they get caught off guard when we start singing. They look closer and see Jesus Christ with His hands all over our lives, all in our fiery furnace and they have no choice but to recognize the greatness of God.
Did the boys know they had company in the furnace? Maybe, maybe not. God does not need to announce Himself to us a million times in our lives, we either believe He is there or not. We do not have to see Him as long as others do. The LORD has promised to never leave or forsake us, it is time for us to get strong in our faith and take Him at His Word. When we are sentenced to the fiery furnace because of our faith God does not expect us to go kicking and screaming, He expects us to pick out a song of praise and sing!
When Nebuchadnezzar saw what happened he declared that God was real. What if our Christian example allowed others to see Christ so that, without a shadow of a doubt, they could declare Him Savior of their lives? Our boldness in the faith and obedience to the Word of God could be the catalyst for someone accepting Jesus Christ. How great would it be if Almighty God was all people could see when they look at us?
