by Jeanne Page
Chapter Eight
The Friend in the Furnace
All that is precious and valuable must pass through the furnace.
Charles Spurgeon said: “Let me be as the bullock which stands between the plough and the altar, to work or be sacrificed; and let my motto be, ‘Ready for either.’”
As the Servant Girl descended into the furnace she knew that God was calling her to work, but she also realized that she was to be melted and tried there--to work or be sacrificed and ready for either.
John Piper has used an illustration of prayer as a ‘walkie-talkie,’ in contrast to what some of us treat prayer as: an in-house intercom used to call upon our servant to wait upon us. He stresses that prayer is meant to be our means of communication with God as we are on our mission, in the midst of battle—a means to receive orders from our Commander.
Zechariah 13:9 says “This third I will bring into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘they are my people,’ and they will say, ‘the Lord is our God.’”
As Piper taught in a recent study on this verse, the fire is meant to be a ‘school of prayer.’ It is there that we call on His name and He promises to answer us. May we not be tempted to drop out of the school of prayer, even though the heat is intense. May we always be ready to work and ready for sacrifice—staying in constant communication with our Commander.
Spurgeon said, “The best way to live above all fear of death is to die every morning before you leave your bedroom. The apostle said, ‘I die daily.’ When you have got into the habit of daily dying, it will come easy for you to die for the last time.”
How does one get into the habit of dying? Romans 12:1 tells us “Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” Each morning I try to think about that Tabernacle camped in the middle of the desert. I see the brazen altar with the smoldering coals beneath it and I think about what it means to willingly lay my body upon it. Submitting my body to that blazing altar is not necessary for my salvation. That work has been completed by our Savior, Christ Jesus. But becoming a living sacrifice is necessary in order to burn my flesh life away. It is the desire for holiness which compels me to do it.
May I welcome the furnace of affliction for the good work it does in my life and be comfortable with the smell of smoke as it wafts around me each day.
We are never alone in the furnace, and we may be surprised by what we gain…and lose there.
Most of us know about three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were thrown into a literal fiery furnace and how God sustained them and protected them. But we often pass over the fact that those three men lost something in the flames—they lost their chains.
The apostles, later, would experience release as chains literally dropped from their wrists to the floor, and even today we can sing praises for our own broken fetters. In his hymn “And Can it Be,” Charles Wesley gave us much to sing about:
“Long my imprisoned spirit lay, Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray I woke, the dungeon flamed with light
My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.”
The Son walks in the fiery furnace with us—our chains fall off and our hearts are free to rise, go forth and “follow Thee.”
Do not be surprised if the Accuser’s voice speaks lies.
We know that he is the prince of lies. When we are in the furnace of affliction we should not be surprised that he will use that opportunity to whisper those lies in our ears and try to destroy us completely. The Servant Girl recognized that it was not her Companion's voice and wisely refused to listen to her accuser.
Do not be surprised if the Accuser’s voice speaks truth.
Now this does take us by surprise, doesn't it? We expect him to lie…but to use truth against us? He can take our sins--the things we know to be true about us--and heap shame and guilt upon us. When we are already struggling in the furnace, it's hard not to give in to these accusations…for they are true. But these accusations are not the whole truth. The whole truth is that Jesus died for those sins and the debt has been paid. We are free! And we are protected under the wings of our God. And we are loved. That's why we need to close our ears to the accuser and focus only on The Shepherd's voice.
The Enemy fans the flames, but so does your Companion.
Another surprise! The Servant Girl expected the enemy to fan the flames of her affliction but was surprised to sense the breath of her Companion blowing the flames hotter, as well. When He did, though, she was able to see the words in the flames. It helps us to remember that there is always purpose in our afflictions. It is irrelevant whether it is God allowing the enemy to fan the flame, or it is God Himself blowing on the fire. God is Sovereign. I trust Him. For whatever reason…this is the journey He has for me right now.
There is always purpose in the heat intensifying.
Brian Doerksen has written a beautiful praise song, “Refiner’s Fire” which pleads with our Father to purify our hearts so we may be as gold and precious silver. The way that God has ordained for us to receive the blessing of holiness, is through the refining fire of affliction.
When we are in the fiery furnace, though, our Refiner is there with His eye on us constantly, watching, waiting, helping, protecting and finally deciding when the work is over and we are to be removed from the heat. The Refiner never walks away as we go through the purifying process, and we never stay there one moment longer than is required to achieve His divine purpose.
Step by step we ascend to the high places to intercede for our friends, carrying their burdens with us.
“To stand before men on behalf of God is one thing. To stand before God on behalf of men is something entirely different.” Leonard Ravenhill
Spurgeon said, “Jesus has sent His church into the world on the same errand upon which He Himself came, and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the church is the world’s priest?”
The curtain in the temple has been torn from top to bottom. God, Himself, has given us access to the Most Holy Place. As Believers, we can go directly to God and we have the same responsibility that the priests of Old Testament times had—to go before Yahweh and represent those who cannot or will not come.
Intercession is one of the most solemn duties we have. May we never neglect this all important responsibility.
Sometimes, it will require multiple trips to the heights to complete the carrying of another’s burden.
My own prayer journey--the one depicted in this parable--was the result of the difficulties a loved one was experiencing. God worked through those difficulties in a process that took not just months, but years to complete. During those years, I climbed the ladder of intercession every single day--and often times throughout the entire day, praying continuously.
Oh friend, please understand that these things take time. Prepare to persevere. In my heart I knew that the stakes were too high to just give up. Be strong and courageous, Soldier. Never, never, never give up. Pray, pray, pray and pray again. Up the ladder. Down the ladder. Carry another part of the burden on your shoulders. Up the ladder. Down the ladder…and one day you will find, that it is done.
Surrendering your key to another is not loss but gain.
The Servant Girl hesitated when told to surrender her key. She recalled the journey that the key had enabled her to take and did not want that journey to end. But her Companion explained that the key had already been surrendered before…to her.
I know that I am where I am today, because of the prayers of others. I know that other people have climbed the ladder, carrying my burdens, interceding for me. In doing so, they received the same gift that I have.
The Golden Key of Prayer is eternally burned into their hearts and mine. I can joyfully pass The Golden Key on to another, now, knowing it will do the same for my friend. I pray that this is what I am doing by writing this book. I pray that you, my friend, have taken The Golden Key and are even now on your own journey with your beloved Companion.