Furnace Club

On Friday evening, December 3, 1999, my wife and I were on our way to the NC District Church of the Nazarene’s Christmas celebration. Before getting on the highway, we pulled into a gas station to fill up.

The wind chill was below zero, which was unusually cool for North Carolina. Even though I wore a new three-piece wool suit, I thought it was too cold to stand outside. So, I set the handle to pump automatically and returned to the car until I heard it click.

When I went to remove the handle, I felt a shock of static electricity. The gas fumes, combined with the spark, produced a flame. In less than a second, my midsection was ablaze. I began yelling for Heather to get out of the car while simultaneously trying to put out the flame on my new suit and remove the hose from the gas tank as it was already spilling down the side of our vehicle.

In the heat of the moment (no pun intended), I forcefully yanked the handle out of the tank, spraying gas down the side and onto the car’s roof. Then, things went from bad to worse. Flames ignited all over the car and on the ground where I stood. All the while, I was still on fire myself.

Heather finally saw what was happening and quickly exited the car. Once she was out, I envisioned the entire gas station exploding like in one of the James Bond movies. So, I ran. In doing so, the cold wind fed the fire. I finally stopped, dropped, and rolled as other people ran toward me with coats and blankets trying to help.

All of that happened in less than 60 seconds. It is hard to explain everything that went through my mind. As life flashed before my eyes, thoughts about my family, life’s purpose, the call to ministry, and things I still needed to do raced through my head.

At the hospital, they treated me for second-degree burns. Fortunately, while my hair was singed and my suit toasted, I was wearing enough clothing that things weren’t worse. The following week, the local news station interviewed me, and I made the front page of two newspapers. The folks at the church I was serving nicknamed me “Rev. Sparky.”

Moment of Truth

I’ve heard when human beings experience the moment they know they’re going to die, it’s almost instinctive that they think about the deeper meaning of life. In those final moments when the scaffolding of life is stripped away, all the things people spend their lives chasing—success, wealth, reputation, etc.—mean nothing. Ultimately, you’re left with what you believe and built your life on, and that’s it.

We’re all familiar with the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These were young men of great promise. Although they were exiles, they’d risen to positions of prominence in the world’s most powerful nation. They could’ve lived comfortable lives raising their families. No doubt, their hearts were full of hopes and dreams.

Yet in that critical moment, when asked to bow down to the king’s idol or face the fiery furnace, they chose God. All they had to do was bend a knee, and their nightmare would’ve ended. They were facing unimaginable pain; one word would’ve meant life. However, when faced with life or death, they chose death.

Full Surrender

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego’s story embodies devotion to God. They told the king, “We will not serve your gods even if it means death!” Imagine these three young men facing what looks like their final moment. They’d seen the end coming since they heard about the king’s decree, and now every exit was closed. Yet, they remained faithful to the end.

Finally, the king’s men throw them into the furnace. They wait for the searing pain, the numbness, and the smoke inhalation to suffocate their lungs, but nothing happens. They don’t feel any different. Then it dawns on them that they’re not even warm, and on top of that, their restraints are gone. That’s not even the best part!

When King Nebuchadnezzar sees them walking around in the furnace unharmed, he leaps in amazement (one translation uses trepidation because it indicates an element of fear). He couldn’t believe his eyes. Not three, but four men were walking around in the furnace unbound. The king declared that the fourth looked like a Son of God.

Apparently, these four men spent a little time together in the flames. I wonder what they said. I imagine the fourth man in the furnace told them how proud the Father was of their devotion. I wonder if He said to them that because of this one act of faithfulness, for centuries, all over the world, people facing persecution would find strength through their story.

They came to this place in their faith, planning to withhold worship from a false god. The furnace looked like the end. Yet, it turned out to be the best day of their lives!

Sometimes God delivers us from the furnace, but most of the time, He meets us in the furnace. The furnace is the place where full surrender leads. So often, it looks dangerous and painful, but amazingly, it’s the safest place of all because Jesus is there.

I wonder what the rest of their lives were like. I wonder if they ever considered how easily they might’ve missed this divine encounter. They would’ve missed the best experience of their lives if they’d given in to fear.

I believe when they were old men, they got their families together for a cookout on the anniversary of this day to remember the “Furnace Club.” I imagine them wearing their old robes and telling their grandchildren the story of the day they walked around in the fire with the Lord.

If you ever trust God enough to go to the place that looks like the end, and He meets you there, it’ll mark you forever. Those are the moments we carry our grave.

Dangerous Prayer

A great danger for believers today is their attempt to avoid the furnace. We pray for God to deliver us from hardship and inconvenience or to make our lives easy and comfortable. We believe the answer is to change jobs or transfer to an easier assignment. Yet maybe God wants to use you right where you are.

Can I challenge you today? Stop asking for less heat. Stop praying for an easier, more secure life. There is something better. If you’re ready to go deeper, pray: “God, I don’t ask for more comfort or success. Instead, give me more opportunities to show my devotion to Jesus.”

Conclusion

The Center for the Study of Global Christianity indicates that more than 900,000 Christians have been martyred in the last decade, equating to 90,000 yearly or one every six minutes. These people loved God so much that they said, “I’ll give everything, even if it means my life.” When their final moment came, which it will for all of us, they were willing to meet God in the furnace.

Over the years, God has said to millions what He said to Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It’s the same thing He said to Stephen, the first martyr. He said the same thing to the disciples, who were persecuted and killed for their faith. It’s what He said to Corrie Ten Boom, Martin Luther King Jr., Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and many others.

It’s the same thing God says to millions of Christ-followers today who live in places where professing Christ could cost them their lives. And maybe, He is saying it to somebody reading this right now: “I’ll meet you in the furnace.”

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Sources: Expositor’s Bible Commentary; Preaching Today with Rev. John Ortberg; Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary