Where God is when it hurts.
"Where is God when it hurts?"This is the agonising cry of those who are gripped by suffering, heartbreak and injustice.
It's a real question and many feel that religion does not answer it.
Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego are exiles. They've been ripped out of their home country, and their capital, Jerusalem has been sacked, and their beloved temple has been destroyed. They've been put into Babylon's brainwashing program and given new names that honour Babylonian deities. The king has installed a massive statue of himself and a provided a big band to pressurise people to bow down.
We might argue that they have had to deal with enough and that they shouldn't have to literally face the music, but these three young men take their stand and refuse to bow down even if they have to face the possibility that God may not rescue them: "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
What do they get for their trouble?
They are thrown into the furnace...
And this is where we discover God's location.
| Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." (Daniel3:24-25) |
Nebuchanezzar guesses that the fourth is a "son of the gods".
Some may argue that it is an angel -
But I have no problem believing that this is "THE angel of the Lord" - a pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus.
We've seen Him appear to Joshua, Gideon and others.
He's in the fire with them...
And then some 400 years later He's in Bethlehem, being hunted by Herod.
And then He's on the cross - carrying the guilt and brokenness of our sin.
Bearing the brunt of our guilt, pain and shame.
Where is God when it hurts?
In the fire with three Hebrew Students, and on the cross - With you and me.
