If You’re Feeling Bruised and Abused…
“So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.” (Daniel 3:26-27)
I've lost it. Dropped it. Left it on top of my car. Drenched it from the incoming tide. And, horror of horrors, heated it up in the microwave in place of my coffee. My poor abused phone.
I've certainly earned my spot in the phone “Hall of Shame." I don't mean to be cruel to my phone; it's just a dreadful combination of distraction and downright negligence. During an overextended season, I picked up my phone to discover a huge crack across the entire width of the screen.
"What in the world?" I said out loud. "When did this happen?" It wasn't until the next morning that I had the nerve to tell my husband, Dale. (The previous phone fiasco resulted in Dale braving icy rain for two hours to search for my missing phone on the side of the road after I left it on top of my car. Ahem.)
"Honey, I cracked my phone. I have no idea how I did it!" My son picked it up and validated my fear. "Yep, Dad, it's really bad."
"I don't understand!" I protested. "I even bought a great case and a screen protector! I paid an extra $10 and the sales lady guaranteed me it would keep my phone from cracking! It's not supposed to be able to crack!"
Insert my "a-ha" moment. A screen protector.
"Wait! Christian, can you get the sheet protector off and see if maybe it's just the protector that's cracked?" I asked with palpable optimism. And sure enough, we peeled back the damaged, cracked, pitiful screen protector to find the phone perfectly intact. Insert giant sigh of relief, and my second “a-ha” moment. This ordinary moment became an opportunity for God to download an extraordinary truth.
Friends, life happens. We get dinged, cracked, bruised, and bumped. Some of us traveled the lonesome path of my phone; feeling lost, overlooked, or washed up with the tide. Some days, we look as though we, too, got inadvertently short circuited in a microwave. Most of us would pay far more than a few bucks for a life-size screen protector. Yet, God offers it for free; we simply need to put it on. When we place our trust in an unfailing God, we’re covered with His protection. Trials and temptations attempt to weaken our resolve and get us to crack under pressure. But faith in God’s heart protects our own.
In Daniel Chapter 3, we meet three Hebrew young men taken as captives to Babylon. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered a statue built in his honor, 90 feet high and 9 feet wide. He commanded nations far and wide to bow down and worship his image. When word came to the King that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, devout Jews, refused to obey, he was incensed and threatened to throw them into a fiery furnace. Their response stunned the King:
“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” (Daniel 3:16-19)
They bound the three men and threw them to their death. Yet, to King Nebuchadnezzar’s amazement, a fourth man stood in the fire: Jesus. Because of their bold faith, God covered them with miraculous protection; not even a hair of their head was singed. In Daniel 3:28, we see the incredible result of their deliverance in the words of the King: “They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.” He issued a decree requiring all nations to worship the one, true God: Jehovah.
That challenging workplace? God’s got you covered.
That overwhelming problem? God’s got you covered.
That cracked relationship? God’s got you covered.
The precious blood of Jesus stands as our defense and protects us from the enemy's targeted attacks. No matter what you face, God's got you covered.
