When the three young men we know as “the three Hebrew children” were thrown into the fiery furnace, a fourth Man was there with them — Jesus! The men did not get burned; in fact, their clothes and hair did not even smell of smoke when they emerged from the furnace. Beloved, that is the very kind of deliverance God wants to bring to you!
What is God’s motivation for wanting to deliver you? Is it because you have done something to appease him? Have you increased your prayer time? Do you spend more time reading the scriptures? Have you promised never to fail him again? Isaiah had the true revelation: “Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored. And I have loved you” (Isaiah 43:4).
God was saying to Israel, “You are about to go through fires and floods but I am going to walk with you through them all. And in the end, I am going to deliver you simply because you are mine! I know you by name and you are the delight of my heart.”
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
You may say, “I can believe that God delights in righteous pastors. They pray and spend so much time in the Word. And elders and intercessors have endured testings and trials and come through in victory. But I find it hard to believe that a troubled, vacillating Christian could be precious to God.”
Even if you lived to be five hundred years old, you would not live long enough to please God by your own design. Perhaps the devil has convinced you that you have disappointed God and will never be able to please him. But that is a lie because you have been saved and forgiven.
Oh, thank God for Jesus! His grace enables you to stand in victory.