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God Works Mightily for His Chosen Ones, December 22
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the
rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
Isaiah 43:2
.
The three Hebrews declared to the whole nation of Babylon their faith in
Him whom they worshiped. They relied on God. In the hour of their trial they
remembered the promise, “When thou passest through the waters, I will be with
thee; ... when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither
shall the flame kindle upon thee.” And in a marvelous manner their faith in the
living Word had been honored in the sight of all. The tidings of their wonderful
deliverance were carried to many countries by the representatives of the different
nations that had been invited by Nebuchadnezzar to the dedication. Through the
faithfulness of His children, God was glorified in all the earth.
Important are the lessons to be learned from the experience of the Hebrew
youth on the plain of Dura. In this our day, many of God’s servants, though
innocent of wrongdoing, will be given over to suffer humiliation and abuse at the
hands of those who, inspired by Satan, are filled with envy and religious bigotry.
Especially will the wrath of man be aroused against those who hallow the Sabbath
of the fourth commandment; and at last a universal decree will denounce these as
deserving of death.
The season of distress before God’s people will call for a faith that will not
falter. His children must make it manifest that He is the only object of their
worship, and that no consideration, not even that of life itself, can induce them to
make the least concession to false worship. To the loyal heart the commands of
sinful, finite men will sink into insignificance beside the word of the eternal God.
Truth will be obeyed though the result be imprisonment or exile or death.
As in the days of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, so in the closing period of
earth’s history the Lord will work mightily in behalf of those who stand steadfastly
for the right. He who walked with the Hebrew worthies in the fiery furnace will
be with His followers wherever they are. His abiding presence will comfort and
sustain.
In the midst of the time of trouble—trouble such as has not been since there
was a nation—His chosen ones will stand unmoved. Satan with all the hosts of
evil cannot destroy the weakest of God’s saints. Angels that excel in strength will
protect them, and in their behalf Jehovah will reveal Himself as a “God of gods,”
able to save to the uttermost those who have put their trust in Him.—
Prophets and
Kings, 512, 513
.
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