The Year of Liberation!
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““Look! I see four men untied, walking around in the midst of the fire, and they are not hurt!...””
We’re in our last week of 2020 and I know that most of you are ready to bid this year goodbye and good riddance. It’s the ongoing theme; 2020 was the year from hell. I get it, it was tough, but what if throughout it all, something glorious was happening?
I was having a conversation with my sister and she mentioned the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego—the three men who were bound and thrown into the furnace because they refused to serve the gods of King Nebuchadnezzer and the golden image which he had set up (Daniel 3). The part that stood out to her was that the men had been tied up when they were thrown into the furnace, but when Nebuchadnezzar looked in on them, not only did he see four men in the fire, but the three that he had thrown in were untied and walking around. UNTIED. And unharmed.
The beauty of this story for most has always been the fact that the Lord was in the fire with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego and kept them from being consumed by it, but what about the fact that in the midst of the fire, he had set them free? They were no longer bound. This is what my sister brought to my attention during our discussion. Could it be the same for us? That while we’re experiencing some of the greatest trials of our lives, a greater thing is being accomplished? Could it be that while we are battling the storm, we aren’t only being protected by a loving God, but we are also being liberated from whatever it is that has us bound? Fear, an unforgiving heart, bitterness, idolatry, arrogance, etc.
I encourage you to enter into the New Year with this in mind. Trials don’t cease because a new year has begun and we will certainly face many more in the years ahead, but our perspective could always be one of faith. Maybe we will look back on this year and realize that 2020 wasn’t the year from hell, but the year of liberation.
Always love and blessings,
Tamarria
“And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.”
