Well just when you thought it was over I realized it was just the beginning.  The lack of sleep the hours of prayer the nights wrestling with God I thought was the whole deal to only find out He was only prepping me for what was to come, “The Furnace.”  The pastor spoke today about Shadrach/ Meshach/ Abednego and the fiery furnace.  How there will be times when you will have to walk through the fire, when people who once spoke highly of you will turn and throw you in the furnace.  But not to lose your Joy because the only thing that gets burnt in the fire are the things that bound you.  There is freedom in the fire.  The king looked in the furnace that was turn up 7 times hotter (7 – represents rest) and saw 4 men walking loosed in the fire.  Pastor said sometimes God will keep you from the fire and sometimes He’ll walk you through the fire.   The thing that keeps you from being destroyed is the anointing placed on your life. 

                I love the way God prepares us for things before they happen and without us sometimes knowing.  I can tell you that all in all when you have been in the furnace and all that would bound you in life is burned off and you get a sense of freedom from anything and everything, even things you weren’t even aware of, you quickly get a glimpse at just how incredibly Awesome and Holy God really is and how apart from Him we truly are nothing.  Everything we are, our knowledge, our wisdom, our health, our breath, our existence, our talents, our abilities, our absolute everything comes solely from Him.  My dependence on God has increased and my willingness to serve and be used has multiplied as well.  That is how God reveals Himself to people to prepare them for the call on their life.  It starts with the vision which leads to a despising of oneself(when you see your sinful nature compared to God’s Holiness) then a humbling or bowing down that will take you into worship and praise which will result in surrender, willingness, and an obligation to serve that finally will bring about a changed life.  Well again I’ll say it the heat is on…