“Those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed.” This principle from 1 Samuel 2:30 is repeated over and over in Daniel 1-6. We have seen how Daniel honored God in the first two chapters, and how God honored him. What about Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah?
Today we see how this principle applies to them. In his book on Daniel, Warren Wiersbe wrote, “The experience of those three men helps us examine our own faith and determine whether we have the kind of authentic faith that can be tested and bring glory to God.” There are four qualities of true faith that passes the test of a fiery trial.{note}
• True faith confronts the challenges, vv. 1-12.
• True faith confesses the Lord, vv. 13-18.
• True faith confounds the adversary, vv. 19-26.
• True faith communicates encouragement, vv. 27-30.
God may not deliver you from the fire, but He will walk with you through the fire.
We see this in Isaiah 43:2
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you."
