Daniel’s 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the idol that the King made. The King
first tried to persuade them, then threatened them, but they still refused to worship the idol. The King of Babylon
became furious and ordered the soldiers to firmly tie them and throw them into the blazing furnace. The fire was
so hot that the flame of the furnace even killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
God didn’t put out the fire. God didn’t pull out Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego immediately. Instead, God was
there with them. In the fire they were unbound and unharmed. It was still a blazing furnace, yet it couldn’t harm
them. When God, Immanuel, was with them, nothing could happen to them. However, they could still fear and
panic in the fire. They didn’t. Instead they walked around in the fire with Christ (or Christ figure).
The reality of our lives is not easy. Challenges and trials are everywhere. Sometimes it is harder to endure the
reality than being martyred because of its persistency. However, the evidence of God’s steadfast love in my life is
not necessarily the absence of the problems, disappearance of them or removing me from them. The greatest
evidence of God’s steadfast love for me is that He is with me (Immanuel) even in the midst of those challenges
and problems.