What extreme faith Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego had. King Nebuchadnezzar does an “extreme” thing by throwing them into the furnace. The three young men showed “extreme” devotion to God by saying, “Even if God doesn’t rescue us, we will not worship your statue.” And, God, does something quite “extreme”, even though it was quite unexpected. What can we learn from this experience?
 
• God did not keep them from going into the furnace. God is all powerful! God can do anything! When Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego said they wouldn’t bow down to the statue, God could have done all kinds of things that would have kept them from being thrown into the furnace. Sometimes God does make our bad situation disappear. But, most of the time, God allows life to happen to us. He allows the everyday good and bad things to happen...because...
 
• God will walk through the furnace with us! As adults, teens and kids, we go through situations sometimes that feel really bad and sometimes are even scary. We feel like we’re the only one going through something terrible. God didn’t show up in the furnace after Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were in there. No! God went with them into the furnace and the three men were never burned, not even when they were first thrown in. God was hanging out with them right there where flames were all around them! When we decide that no matter what, we are going to live God’s way, God hangs out with us even in the really bad times.
 
• God sets us free in the middle of our furnace. It’s really interesting that God didn’t just sit with the boys in the furnace. He untied their hands and feet, so they could walk around. He set them free even when they were surrounded by flames! How do we react when we’re going through a difficult situation? Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego’s belief in God was so “extreme” it was such a part of their lives, that the threat of being thrown in the furnace wasn’t the most important part of their lives.
 
How would you have reacted if you were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Would you have taken a stand for Jesus or would you have bowed down to the statue?