Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

The amazing story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, three young men defying

the mighty King Nebuchadnezzar and thrown into a fiery furnace. Recorded in the

third chapter of Daniel, the account of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego provides

believers today with strong and lasting lessons.

For their refusal to obey the king’s decree to bow down to the idol, three charges were

brought against them. They paid no heed to the king and his commands, they did not

serve the king’s gods, and they refused to worship the golden statue the king himself

had set up. The penalty for their actions was death. Nebuchadnezzar was astonished

that the fire did not consume Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He was even more

amazed when he saw not three, but a fourth person with them: "Look!" he answered,

"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" (Daniel 3:25 NKJV).

The chief lesson from the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is that, as

Christians, we will never be able to bring the world to Christ by becoming like it. As did

these three men, so should we in revealing to the world a higher power, a greater

purpose, and a superior morality, than the world in which we live. If we are put before

the fiery furnace, we can reveal the One who can deliver us from it. Remember the

powerful, yet comforting words, of the apostle Paul:

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly

we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are

achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on

what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is

unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Our hope when experiencing illness, persecution, or pain lies in knowing that this life

is not the end—there is life after death. That is His promise to all those who love and

obey Him. Knowing that we will have eternal life with God enables us to live above the

pain and suffering we endure in this life (John 14:23).