What to do when you are going through hell

By Kevin Berry

Position yourself for blessings.

It is with great love and a strong sense of urgency from the Holy Spirit that I bring you amessage from the Word of God.

The Lord led me recently to the book of Daniel, chapter three, where we see a defining moment in the people of God that strongly resembles the days we are living in right now.

We are being positioned for a massive grace awakening as we have never seen before. This is a defining moment for you, your family, and the Church. Your response in the heat of the moment either positions you for the blessings of God or keeps you from miracles God has prepared for you to walk in.

When fear fills the atmosphere, trust in God.

Let’s look at the account in Daniel 3. Because of Judah’s sin and outright rebellion against God, Judah was taken into captivity. The people of God that were set free from slavery were slaves once again—not because it was God’s design, but because they sinned and would not repent.

Daniel and a few of his friends watched King Nebuchadnezzar destroy their families. Their lives were being turned upside down. They were taken as captives to the foreignland of Babylon. Everything they knew to be normal wasn’t normal anymore, but they trusted God. God protected them and promoted them to positions of authority in Babylon. They went through a cycle of trial and promotion, tragedy and triumph. Something bad would happen, then something good would happen.

The evil king made a gold statue and set it up about 16 miles from Babylon.

Whenever music was played nearby, those who heard it had to fall to the ground and worship the statue. Daniel was in an epic spiritual battle. His battle was not just abouta king making a statue; there was very real satanic activity behind the whole thing. I feel the same about the season we are walking in now.

Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace. – Daniel 3:6

What? The furnace was something you could see, something you could smell. Fear filled the atmosphere. Satan was behind the fear, behind the false worship. This was an epic spiritual battle between unseen forces. Behind all the noise and confusion of our day, there is an epic spiritual battle with dark, demonic forces.

Today, people are afraid about COVID, politics, and the possibility of losing their jobs, to name just a few. If you have been diagnosed with cancer, fear can fill the room. If you have lost your job, been through the pain of betrayal, or experienced death in your family, fear and anxiety may feel close at hand.

There is a shaking going on in the world today, but you can walk in peace. It is your inheritance in Christ to be unshakeable. You need not be shaken by the toxic environment that comes with fear. The Lord your Maker sees you, loves you, and is for you. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside you. The Lord, who holds the world in His hands, is holding you.

When fear fills the atmosphere, faith stands out all the more.

So at the sound of the musical instruments, ALL THE PEOPLE, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. – Daniel 3:7

All the people bowed—except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These three men stood alone! This was their defining moment. Imagine being pressured to bowdown while being able to see smoke coming from the furnace. They watched as men bigger, and perhaps braver than them, fell to the ground to obey the command.

What gave courage to those three Jewish men? They were friends of Daniel. They were in relationship with a man of God. They had seen him interpret dreams, stand in faith, and they saw his custom of praying to God three times a day. They had been around a man who had the kind of courage and faith that could look a lion in the face and not cower in fear.

It’s who you are in relationship with that equips you for your defining moment!

They dared to go against the current and trust God. They refused to bow their knee toanyone but God. Hear my heart, this is your defining moment!

Will you sound like everybody else who is quick to judge and slander others, or will youstand out from the crowd?

Let me be clear, in today’s current climate, I’m not talking about wearing a mask or not wearing a mask. It’s who you trust that matters! What matters is if you are conforming to the culture of this world, or if you’ve been transformed by the power of another world (Romans 12:2).

When fear fills the atmosphere, know that God is able.

If there was ever a time for Christians to sound different, it is today. Oh, that a sound of repentance and praise would come out of us in this season.

At that time, certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. – Daniel 3:8

More than a bunch of kids telling on each other to get a sibling in trouble, the three men were maliciously accused. In this instance, “accused” means to chew up into pieces; it suggests a severe hatred. Satan was behind both the accusation and the hatred. Does any of that sound familiar?

We know that God is able, we know that He will rescue us.

The cancel culture was in full effect. Today, if you refuse to be politically correct, you will be maliciously accused, hated, and people will seek to cancel you! If you are not accepting of an ungodly lifestyle, social media has paved the way for what’s called “online shaming.”

When King Nebuchadnezzar heard that the three men did not bow, he was furious. I imagine he turned red, the vein on his forehead was popping out, and his face was distorted in rage. Even so, he gave them one more chance to bow and worship the statue, but if they refused, they were to be thrown into the fiery furnace immediately.

“And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?” Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said to the King, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us.

He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, YourMajesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” – Daniel 3:15-18

It was their defining moment when they stood alone, looking at the blazing furnace. The smell of smoke and fear filled the air, but it didn’t stop there. It was another defining moment when they spoke to the king. It’s what comes out of your mouth in moments of adversity that makes or breaks you! It’s who you hang out with that often determines the kind of words that will come out of your mouth.

Their reply was powerful: We know God is able, we know He will rescue us. But even if he doesn’t, we will never serve your gods.

When you are going through hell, shake it off!

Nebuchadnezzar was so furious with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face became distorted with rage. He commanded that the furnace be heated seven times hotter than usual. Then he ordered some of the strongest men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. – Daniel 3:19-20 

The king had demanded such a hot fire that the flames leaped out and killed the soldiers while they were throwing the men in the fire!

So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.– Daniel 3:23

Wait! I thought God’s people weren’t supposed to go through bad times. How couldsuch evil happen to God’s people? If we take a look at the history of the people of God, you will often find them in the fire:

• Adam and Eve’s children: Abel stood in the furnace of hatred as his own brother was determined to take his
• Noah was laughed at and called a fool for building a boat on dry land. He stood inthe furnace of
• If you want to see the people of God in history, just look inside the smoldering furnace of Egypt.
• In Acts 28, Paul was in the furnace of having no hope, almost being killed as the shipbroke apart in the Then on top of all that, a snake came out of the fire andlatched onto his hand.

Your response when going through the fire is part of your defining moment! Just as Paul shook the snake off his hand and it fell into the fire, you have the opportunity to shake it off and allow God to burn some things off of you. When it feels like you are going through hell, remember a sacrifice was not a sacrifice until it burned.

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. – Romans 12:1

When you are going through hell, sing your way out!

In the Greek translation of the Old Testament, it reads that when Daniel’s friendsfaced the furnace, they sang. They sang praise!

Psalms 22:3 tells us that God inhabits the praise of His people, or that God is enthroned in the praise of His people. What does that mean? When the Lord’s people praise Him, He sets up His throne to act as Judge over a matter! The Lord came in themidst of the three men as a King greater than King Nebuchadnezzar; as Judge, Hewould set things right.

The moment they started to pray and sing, miracles started breaking out! They were not shouting for their rights or about how messed up the evil king was. They were shouting: God, You are good, Your mercy endures forever; Forgive us God, for we have sinned; We get why all this bad stuff is happening, but You are full of mercy, Lord; You are the same yesterday, today, and forever. I get the picture that it was the sound of their singing that got Nebuchadnezzar’s attention!

When you are going through hell, know that God is with you!

 But suddenly, Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in amazement and exclaimed to his advisers, “Didn’t we tie up three men and throw them into the furnace?” “Yes, Your Majesty, we certainly did,” they replied. “Look!” Nebuchadnezzar shouted. “I see four men, unbound, walking around in the fire unharmed! And the fourth looks like a god!” – Daniel 3:24-25

In the fire, there is smoke, burning, loss, discomfort—but God is in the fire! Most likely the fourth man in the fire was God in the flesh. The three men experienced this promise:

When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. – Isaiah 43:2

How were they walking when their feet and hands were tied? The only thing that Godallowed to burn in the fire was the ropes that bound them. Ropes don’t burn unless you get in the fire; you have to face some heat to be set free!

You have to have your defining moment to be free.

What has the enemy tried to put on you? His ropes can sound like you are not enough, telling you that you are not wanted, and that you never will be.

Know this: Not every fire is of the Lord’s doing. Not every person in a fire is a believer being made better. However, God does allow His children to go through the fire. Why? There are some things He wants burned off of you!

God knows what is best for you!

In nature, controlled, prescribed burns are allowed on purpose and are crucial to release seeds and growth in certain trees. The result turns into nutrients in the soil and gets rid of too much vegetation so new plants can grow. A controlled burn is what is best for the forest.

In the same way, God knows what is best for us! We can see God in the midst of the firethat gives us reason to hope and be at peace. If you don’t look for God in the fire, all you will see is panic, chaos, and the need to try and control what’s going on. What if we trusted God to burn up what should be burned up? What if we stopped trying to save what He wants to burn? If we trusted more, we would be at peace more.

The goal of the fire is not to destroy you, but to position you.

 When King Nebuchadnezzar saw the men remaining unharmed, he called out to them:

“…servants of the Most High God, come out, come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. – Daniel 3:26

They walked through the door—they came out of the fire! You are going to come outof what you are going through. Trust the Lord that the fire won’t last forever and you are going to come out of it!

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to even higher positions in the province of Babylon. – Daniel 3:30 

First there is the problem, then comes the promotion.

You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver. Then you put aleader over us. We went through fire and flood, but you brought us to a place of great abundance. – Psalms 66:10, 12

The Church is being positioned for a great awakening, a final outpouring of theHoly Spirit, that includes you! You were made to go through seasons of fire—purging, refining, shaping, pruning. Everything of value has to go through the fire—a diamond has to be cut; gold and silver must be tried. It is because you are valuable that you must be tried by fire. Fix your eyes and thoughts on the Lord, and He will keep you in peace throughout the process!

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you. – Isaiah 26:3