God Says, "I Will Never Leave You Nor Forsake You"

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At times we endure trials so difficult we wonder how we'll come through it. The Bible offers two powerful examples of ordinary people placed in extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Both stories show that God will stand right by us when we place Him first.

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Christians were designed by God to endure and spiritually prosper from life's trials. However, our loving heavenly Father and elder brother Jesus Christ want us to know that as we face the challenges of life we don't do so alone. "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
See All...). Let's examine two accounts, from the Scriptures, that will give us the comforting reassurance that God and Jesus Christ will "never leave us nor forsake us."

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego

The first example is found in the book of Daniel. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was ruler over one of the greatest empires in world history. Nebuchadnezzar felt the need to unify the various peoples in his empire that stretched from Babylon to Egypt. To unify these various cultures and peoples, he decided that a state religion was needed. He erected a huge statue that the people could worship as the symbol of his wondrous empire. Any person who would not worship that image was to die in a fiery furnace (Daniel 3:1-11 [1] Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.
[2] Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
[3] Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
[4] Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages,
[5] That at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up:
[6] And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
[7] Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.
[8] Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the Jews.
[9] They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for ever.
[10] Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image:
[11] And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

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However, three young men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, who had been taken captive from their homeland of Judah, refused to worship the image. They were to face a literal fiery trial (Daniel 3:12-15 [12] There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
[13] Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.
[14] Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?
[15] Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands?

See All...). The three young men spoke with one voice—they were placing their faith in the true God and would submit to His will and not that of King Nebuchadnezzar. If God wanted to intervene and spare them, so be it; if not, and God allowed them to die, they would submit to the will of God through this trial (Daniel 3:16-18 [16] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
[17] If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
[18] But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

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Enraged at the lack of submission of these three foreigners, King Nebuchadnezzar had the fiery furnace heated seven times hotter than normal. He was determined to set an example of these young men (Daniel 3:19-24 [19] Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.
[20] And he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.
[21] Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
[22] Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
[23] And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.
[24] Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.

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Salvation From the Fiery Furnace

Note how God allowed these faithful young men to be put to the test, to be made to endure the full measure of the trial—but also notice something that should encourage each of us as we face our "fiery trials."

When in the midst of the burning fiery furnace it was noted that the three young men were not alone as they faced the trial of their lives! Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, "I see four men walking about unbound and unharmed in the fire and the fourth looks like a divine being"(Daniel 3:25He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
See All..., Tanakh version).

What was the result of this trial? King Nebuchadnezzar recognized that it was the true God, the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, who had done this mighty feat. The great God of the universe was then magnified by decree throughout the empire and the three young men were then promoted (Daniel 3:26-30 [26] Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
[27] And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them.
[28] Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
[29] Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
[30] Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

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Stephen's Heroic Stand for God

In the pages of the New Testament we have another story of a man facing the trial of his life but doing so with Jesus Christ standing shoulder to shoulder with him. We find this example in Acts 6-7.

Stephen was a man of God mighty in the Scriptures. So much so that the unbelieving Jews could not refute him (Acts 6:10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.
See All...). In his speech before the Jewish Sanhedrin, Stephen accused those Jewish leaders of rejecting God's ways as their forefathers had (Acts 6:12-7
See All...:53).

As King Nebuchadnezzar was enraged at Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, the Jews of the Sanhedrin were enraged at Stephen (Acts 7:54When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
See All...). In this case God allowed Stephen not to be rescued as were Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego. Stephen gave his life in martyrdom.

Note what happens next in the story of Stephen. To encourage him, God allows Stephen to see a vision of heaven, the glory of God, and note—Jesus Christ standing at the right hand of God (Acts 7:55-56 [55] But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,
[56] And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

See All...)!

We humans are inspired and moved by what we "see." Stephen was allowed to "see," in vision, the glory of God, which he knew he would experience at the time of his resurrection. He was also moved be "seeing" Jesus Christ fully engaged and standing with him during the moment of his greatest need!

Truly, these two stories illustrate the simple yet powerful fact that God the Father and Jesus Christ, our Elder Brother, will "never leave us nor forsake us."

For further food for thought on this topic please write for our publication "Why Does God Allow Suffering? "