Daniel 3:28 - "Nebuchadnezzar answered and said, 'Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants, who trusted in him, and set aside the king's command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God."
The Story is told about the baptism of King Aengus by St. Patrick in the middle of the fifth century. Sometime during the rite, St. Patrick leaned on his sharp-pointed staff and inadvertently stabbed the kings foot. After the baptism was over St. Patrick looked down at all the blood, realized what he had done, and begged the king's forgiveness. Why did you suffer this pain in silence, the St. Patrick wanted to know? The king replied, "I thought it was part of the ritual." (Source: "Pain," Sermon Illustrations).
The most powerful emperor of that age in Daniel's passage was impressed with Daniel and his friends' faith. King Nebuchadnezzar recognized that these guys were willing to defy his order and risk death because they trusted God.
Did you know that some trees only sprout after a forest fire? The Lodgepole pine tree is like that. The seeds are in the cones so tightly that they won't come out unless intense heat comes along. It will melt the resin, then the seed drops, and then it germinates. Without heat, it would not happen. The same is true with us. Sometimes God brings new life to others because we trusted him through our fire.
Have a blessed day!
