Refuge for a Single Mom

Daniel’s Friends Protected   [Daniel 3:19-30]

19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with wrath, and his facial expression was altered toward Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. He answered by giving orders to heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

20 He commanded certain valiant warriors who were in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego in order to cast them into the furnace of blazing fire.
21 Then these men were tied up in their trousers, their coats, their caps and their other clothes, and were cast into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire.

22 For this reason, because the king’s command was urgent and the furnace had been made extremely hot, the flame of the fire slew those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego.

23 But these three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, fell into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire still tied up.

24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astounded and stood up in haste; he said to his high officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They replied to the king, “Certainly, O king.”

25 He said, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!”

26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the furnace of blazing fire; he responded and said, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, come out, you servants of the Most High God, and come here!” Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego came out of the midst of the fire.

27 The satraps, the prefects, the governors and the king’s high officials gathered around and saw in regard to these men that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men nor was the hair of their head singed, nor were their trousers damaged, nor had the smell of fire even come upon them.

28 Nebuchadnezzar responded and said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants who put their trust in Him, violating the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies so as not to serve or worship any god except their own God.

29 “Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb and their houses reduced to a rubbish heap, inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way.”

30 Then the king caused Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to prosper in the province of Babylon.

Often, (very often, in fact) I fall back on God’s promise to get us ‘through’ adversity … That really sparked my interest of the word ‘through’ and I started thinking about how very deep it really is!

We must go ‘through’ hardship, ‘through’ difficulty, ‘through’ danger, ‘through’ trials, not over, around or under, but THROUGH!

From there, I got to thinking about how we could overcome adversity ‘through’ Him and pass ‘through’ it OR we could let the adversity go ‘through’ us and potentially destroy us!  Provocative?  Yeah, I thought so too!  *wink*

Through

The bible often talks about how we can get ‘through’ trials and tribulations by going ‘through’ the Lord.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.  Philippians 4:13

By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.  Hebrews 11:29

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.  Romans 11:36

Through God we shall do valiantly, And it is He who will tread down our adversaries.  Psalm 60:12

When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you.  Isaiah 43:2

He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint.  Deuteronomy 8:15

Serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews.  Acts 20:19

Simply put, when we share a deep and profound relationship with God, we are better able to trust in Him.  We can filter our problems, grievances, sadness, confusion, etc. ‘through’ Him and come ‘through’ our circumstances with something much more manageable.

Every bad thing in your life can produce something good if you’ve learned and grown from it.  Just as gold must pass ‘through’ the fiery kiln to become beautiful, we must pass ‘through’ the trials and tribulations of this world to fulfill the amazing plans that God has for us!

But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.  Job 23:10

So that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  I Peter 1:7

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, Refine them as silver is refined, And test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are My people,’ And they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.’”  Zechariah 13:9

Labels: Adversity, Perseverance, Strength, Tests, Trials, Tribulation, Victory

Yesterday, we ended with this verse: In the day of prosperity be happy, But in the day of adversity consider-- God has made the one as well as the other. So that man will not discover anything [that will be] after him. Ecclesiastes 7:14

Ouch! God created adversity? Looks that way! Well, why might He do that? I mean, what good could come out of adversity?

I said to him, "My lord, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:14 If you look back over your life, and consider the times most adverse, did you learn something? Did you grow? Did you run to God? Did you wash your robes?

So that the proof of your faith, [being] more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ I Peter 1:7 Chances are you sought the relief of Jesus Christ. You probably prayed, asked your church and friends to pray! You exercised great faith and belief!

I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:9-10

It all boils down to this, you will face a series of `Life Tests`. You certainly can`t bumble around in life ignorant and naïve as the day you were born! The Lord wishes for us to grow strong in mind, body and spirit! He wants us to become more like Him. In His image! Now the truth of the matter is that we will NEVER be as good as God! NEVER! And anyone that attempts to tell you otherwise is way off! We are human, we are sinners and we are continually trying to grow closer to God. To become more God-like! Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Matthew 26:41

With each test you `pass`, you move to a higher `level`. For example, I tried and tried to overcome `cussing`. I thought it was so awful that I cussed; I knew it was a sin and I didn`t think I`d ever beat it! No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. I Corinthians 10:13

I used to backslide a few times a day. I gauged myself on how many times I said a bad word per day. Eventually, with much willpower and the grace of God, it slacked off to days per week and now I only cuss once in a blue moon! Don`t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God. Romans 12:2

Now that I`ve `graduated` past this sin/addiction the Lord is dealing with me regarding gossip. (Gossip in and of itself is a whole other can of worms! So for now we`ll just deal with the sin/addiction in general!) Regardless of the level I am at or the amount of this I do, it is a sin! My point here is, I never realized I had a problem with gossip, I was focused on overcoming the cussing.

As we proceed further and further along, the Lord fine tunes us more and more. First it is the more `huge` and obvious sins and as we grow, He reveals the innermost workings of our minds and souls!

For to this end also I wrote, so that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. II Corinthians 2:9 Ultimately, we show faith and obedience by listening to God and making the necessary changes to become the best Christian we (each one of us in our own capacity) can possibly be!

Labels: Adversity, Growth, Learning, Tests, Tribulation

According to Wiktionary, `Adversity` is defined as:

Adversity

1. (Parody): A bottomless lake, surrounded by near-sighted friends. - 1904, The Foolish Dictionary
2. state of adverse conditions; state of misfortune or calamity
3. event that is adverse; calamity

It can be translated to mean: `A bottomless lake`

WOW! `A bottomless lake`? Pit of despair? Hopelessness?

Have you ever had one of `those days`? That`s a loaded question, isn`t it? How about one of those weeks or even months? Nothing seems to go your way or everything seems to go wrong?

When you are in distress and all these things have come upon you, in the latter days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice. Deuteronomy 4:30

You make your minimum credit card payment, only to realize that they/you didn`t figure in interest and now you`re over the limit? Or you didn`t realize that your payment date fell on Sunday and if you don`t pay the extra $12.95 you`re going to be late? The neighbors that come and go 50 times a day (mostly during your toddler`s naptime or bedtime) have lost their muffler! You get in the car to run your child to school because he missed the bus and you`re out of gas or have a flat tire? The neighbors in your apartment building are loud and obnoxious – but they have the nerve to turn you in for parking in `their` spot? Friends, mentors, people you trust lie to you?

What do you do? How do you handle it? The Bible tells us: Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer Romans 12:12 Another translation puts it this way: Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer.

We`ve all been there and the list of terrible situations we face goes on and on. (Some even tragic!) It never ceases to amaze me how bad things can get, and all at the same time! If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. Proverbs 24:10

The enemy is constantly whittling at us, at our faith and devotion. He wants nothing more than to break us and drive us away from our Heavenly Father! Away from Salvation! He will use whatever means possible, our families, our finances, our health, our friends...

There is so much to say on this topic, I think we`ll discuss it all week. We`ll approach different views each day. Please stop by often and leave comments! I look forward to hearing from you gals!

All my love and prayers for a great week!

Labels: Adversity, Distress, Tribulation