God never promised that His dear children would never be cast into the fire of persecution and tribulation. In fact, to the contrary, we have been promised that no child of God is without such suffering for Christ and His truth (John 16:33; Acts 14:21-22). But what we have been promised is that we will not walk alone in the fire of tribulation—the Lord will walk with us to strengthen and to encourage us (Isaiah 43:2; Hebrews 13:5—a double negative, ou mē, is used twice for the most emphatic promise—“no not”). Why does the Lord take us through these fires?
Through fiery trials, we learn in the school of Christ that God is using persecution, tribulation, betrayal, or rejection to grow our faith in leaning upon Him, to teach us patience and perseverance even when the fire is heated seven times stronger, to comfort others with the comfort we have received from the Lord, and to put off the world and the flesh in denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him. May we become good students in the school of Christ as we cast away all bitterness, anger, and self-pity and learn that Jesus is never so near to us as He is when we walk through fiery trials and tribulations.
The main points from our text are: (1) The Cost of Following Christ (Daniel 3:19-23); (2) You Are Never Alone in Suffering for Christ (Daniel 3:24-25).
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