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Daniel 3:23 (again). At Adoration this morning I was thinking more about the ideas in my post yesterday, and in Ones and Zeros (which would help to better understand what I'm about to say), and something else came to me. Yesterday's verse was from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's prayer or song of praise while in the fiery furnace. They eventually emerged from the furnace unscathed, They eventually emerged from the furnace unscathed, miraculously saved from death by an angel sent to protect them, while they sang a song that sounds a lot like a re-creation song, a song that reflects the proper order with which God created the universe, and the proper relationship of Creation to God.

 

Thinking back to my Ones and Zeros post, I was thinking that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the face of fear, emptiness, and death (all of which can be seen as "zero"), had chosen instead to proclaim God and His fullness, life, and order (that is, His "Oneness"). They had chosen God over nothingness. They did not let the fire bother them, they ignored the threat of nothingness, and instead celebrated everything-ness - God. By doing so, they essentially removed themselves from the reality Nebuchadnezzar planned for them with his earthly power, and into God's reality of life and salvation, created and sustained by Him, the source of all power. It was a miracle, of course, but one they had a hand in, not by trying to do a miracle, but by choosing to focus on God's love and wholeness over fear and death. 

 

Jesus told us with faith the size of mustard seed we could move mountains (Matthew 17:20). I think we sometimes hear that and think "Well, then, my faith must be lacking, because no mountains are getting out of my way." But I think He was alluding to something like this - to the power that faith puts in our hearts that allows us to choose God and life over everything else. If we truly believe in God, His goodness, and His supremacy over everything, the emptiness and fear of this world cannot touch us. When faced with a seeming obstacle to holiness and life, like a fiery furnace, or a mountain blocking our path, we don't call upon our faith for some magic spell to get rid of it, we simply look to God, praising Him and blessing Him, and the obstacle becomes meaningless, it becomes a "zero" to God's Oneness.

 

It is not that the fiery furnace didn't produce fire, nor that the mountain does not have mass and weight too great for us to physically move, rather it is that when we merge ourselves with God, with His Divine Will, with His wholeness, they pose no obstacle or threat to us. If it is in His plan, He will send His angel to protect us, He will move the mountain at our word. We are essentially, through faith and with God's grace, moving ourselves from the threats of this world and into His complete protection, into the place where the miracle can happen. It is still up to God whether the miracle occurs; if it had been time for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to die in the furnace, they certainly would have. But they would have died unafraid, joyfully participating in God's plan and His wholeness to the end (and I have seen people approach death like this, it is beautiful!).

 

Even though we can benefit from this miraculous protection, we have to live in this fallen world, so we do experience trials, suffering, and death. But faith gives us the ability to approach all obstacles and challenges in the certainty of God's love and with trust in His plan. If we are choosing His Oneness in our lives and a miracle is meant to happen, it will, because we have moved ourselves into the only place where "nothing will be impossible to you" (Matthew 17:20), into the fullness of God and His plan.