“If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.“But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”( Daniel 3:17-18)

Mistakenly reading the above verses to mean that the faith of the trio was wavering. Today, a person can catch a little bit of flack when they admit they are not certain God will do one thing or another. “Have more faith,” is a common admonishment. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego’s words did not show their lack of faith. They freely admitted that they were not in control of their own destiny. Their faith was in a God, whose plans were bigger than their collective lives. But, in the end, I want the LORD to be glorified in my life and/or death. Ultimately, that’s what their response ensured. They didn’t make some dramatic, “faith-based” claim about what God would, or would not, do. This meant that live or die, their Lord GOD would be glorified in their willingness to die. When we face the consequences of our faith we need to trust God’s wisdom as well as in His power to rescue.

Usually, God does not take away the fire of the trial in the life of a believer. He does not take away the suffering but adds something to it and that is His own presence. In the Spirit, God the Son comes to us. The Spirit of the Son is with us and supports us as we are in the trial. The result of the fire of the trial is to walk in freedom.