The Furnace

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 8
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“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:1010Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. (Isaiah 48:10)).
The furnace of affliction is never pleasant! Consider for a moment Daniel’s three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It wasn’t very nice to think that because of faithfulness to their God they were thrown into the “midst of the burning fiery furnace” (Daniel 3:2323And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. (Daniel 3:23)). However, if we had been able later on to ask them about the experience I am sure they would have told us that it was the best experience of their whole life. Why? Because it was at that time that they enjoyed a special sense of the Lord’s presence with them. When Nebuchadnezzar the king looked into the furnace he was amazed and declared, “Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God” (Daniel 3:2525He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. (Daniel 3:25)). What an experience! I am sure, looking back, they would not have missed it for anything.
Peter wrote to believers who were going through the furnace of affliction as well. He said, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice” (1 Peter 4:11-1211If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 12Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: (1 Peter 4:11‑12)). The believer is the only one who can truly rejoice in the furnace of affliction.
The American preacher and evangelist, Vance Havner (1901-1986), when commenting on a time of difficulty and sickness in his life, said, “God works in mysterious ways...You may gain more ground in adversity than in success.” If the furnace of affliction gives us a deeper sense of His nearness and presence and a special season of personal fellowship, then we have been once again enlarged, and we can echo, “it is good for me ... ”
Fiery trials, how they bring,
Special seasons with the Lord;
Times of drawing near His side,
Valuing Himself, our Ward.
Though not pleasant at the time,
We can know He’s with us still;
Sweet communion often then,
Does our soul and spirit thrill.
In the furnace, there we’ve learnt,
We can walk and not be burnt:
Though the fire seems fierce and grim,
Precious is that walk with Him.