As long as you live, there is a furnace at one time or the other in which you will find yourself. However, there is a fire in you as long as you have Christ in you. Fire, as it were, describes the manifestation of God. This fire is the fire that quenches other fires. Christ in you is the hope of glory.
There is a fire in every believer which quenches other fires. In Hebrews 11:34, we read about those who, ‘quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to fight the armies of the aliens.’
Your faith in Christ is the most precious thing and your faith is what the enemy is after. The enemy will do anything to quench your faith or make you compromise. You will need your faith to walk with God this year, especially as you find yourself in a furnace.
Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. A fire goes before him, and burns up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled (Psalm 97:2-4).
How to manifest His fire?
- You must be hopelessly in His hand
- Make God your number one
- You operate by ‘even if’ faith
- Let your situation be an opportunity for God to be glorified
- Allow God to take care of your enemies
The Hebrew boys in Daniel Chapter 3 operated with an ‘even if’ faith. This means even if God would not save them, they were not ready to compromise by bowing down to the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. They stood out from the crowd but God stood with them.
You must be committed to God to walk with Him. If you want to serve God there are consequences and if you want to serve the devil there will be consequences too. For the Hebrew boys their commitment to God was more than life itself as their relationship with God was more than anything else.
What did the fire do to these boys? It showed them that God is with them always. God is always with us. In fact God uses trouble to make a statement that He is with you. Your physical life will burn out one day but the presence of God in your life can never burn out.
– Pastor Alex Adegboye
