Tag: Furnace

You are chosen in the furnace of affliction!

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George Whittenby George Whitten

Isaiah 48:10 Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

The great evangelist and teacher Charles Spurgeon had a plaque on his bedroom with the words written on it, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.”

Spurgeon, writing about the trials and afflictions that the saints endure, said, “It is no mean thing to be chosen of God.” He continued, “God’s choice makes chosen men choice men … we are chosen, not in the palace, but in the furnace. In the furnace, beauty is marred, fashion is destroyed, strength is melted, glory is consumed; yet here eternal love reveals its secrets, and declares its choice.”

In the midst of trials and tribulations comes the burning question: “Why do the righteous suffer?” Some answer with theology, others with platitudes; C.S. Lewis offers a rhetorical, “Why not? They’re the only ones who can take it!”

One friend suggests, “Suffering was the personal choice of God at the beginning of creation. [Revelation 13:8] If I want to know Him personally and intimately how can I not embrace it?”

Embrace your trial and the suffering involved, but only if you want a deeper relationship with your personal savior.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love

by George Whitten

Christ’s Glory Cannot Be Hidden

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David Wilkersonby David Wilkerson

“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).

We are all familiar with this story. Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had summoned every leader from his far-flung empire for one purpose only and that was to bow down before a huge, golden image and honor the gods of his choice. And if anyone in the land refused to bow, it meant certain death! It was common practice in those days to punish violators of any sort by casting them into a burning oven. When three young men took a stand for righteousness and refused to obey the king’s decree, Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage. He ordered his soldiers to stoke the furnace seven times hotter than usual and prepare to roast the dissenters (read this account in Daniel 3:1-19).

These three Hebrew men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were bound and thrown into a furnace so hot that the soldiers assigned to throw them into the fire began to fall over dead. However, when the king looked in at the three, he was amazed at what he saw. “Didn’t we throw three men into the fire? I see four men walking about and one of them has the appearance of the Son of God!” (see Daniel 3:25).

Now, how could a heathen king recognize the Son of God? It was because Christ’s glory cannot be hidden! Whenever angels appear in Scripture, they are dressed in white and shine with a heavenly brightness. Yet this bright One was no seraphim, this was Jesus himself — and he was brighter than the flame from that seven-times-hot fire.

Beloved, this testimony of Christ’s presence came from heathen lips. And talk about a life-and-death situation. This was the crisis of a lifetime — but Christ walked right into the furnace with these men and delivered them.

What brings Christ into your crisis? It is having full confidence that He is able to rescue and deliver you no matter what you are facing. A confidence that no matter what happens, you are in his hands. Are you facing a crisis — spiritual, financial, mental, physical? In your marriage? Your job? Your business? When only a miracle can get you out of your hopeless situation, Jesus will come and walk through it with you. The Son of the Living God can solve your problem and rescue you out of your furnace of affliction.

by David Wilkerson