Daniel 3:22-25
“The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.  Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?…Look!  I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’”

Isaiah 43:1b, 2b-3a
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine…When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.  For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…”

2 Thessalonians 1:5b-7
“…as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.  God is just:  He will…give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.  This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.”

Everlasting Lord, hell’s fiercest flame cannot threaten the love you have for your own.

You enter the furnace of suffering with us and walk through the blaze that surrounds us.  Our souls are safe because the power of your holy fire can consume every trial we endure.

Comfort us in our burning distress by the cool breeze of your Spirit.  Protect us by your living water so that we emerge unscorched to bear witness to your name.

In the name of the Son of God we ask this, who entered a fiery pit for us and will return as our radiant conqueror and redeemer.

Listen to ‘Approach My Soul, the Mercy Seat’ by Jamie Barnes