Remembering Abba

As a little girl, I loved all things that had to do with animals. Real animals, stuffed animals, TV shows about animals, books about animals; you name it. If it had anything to do with animals, six year old Natalie adored it. The pet store was as exciting as Disneyland so you can probably imagine how fun the zoo was. About once, maybe twice a year, my parents would take my brother and I to the Portland Zoo. Every sight, sound, and smell seemed like the most amazing thing to my little six-year-old mind. A mountain goat bleated and a grizzly bear stocked it’s cage in the forest as the crisp smell of elephant ears coated in sugar and cinnamon filled the air. It was all too much for me to even take in.

I didn’t think that anything could possibly make that day better, that is, until I heard about the elephant exhibit. I could hardly believe my ears as my dad began to tell me that there were real live elephants waiting for me just a short walk away. All I had to do was hold his hand and follow him so I wouldn’t get lost in the big crew and soon I would get to see these magnificent animals with my very own two eyes. He might as well have told me that he knew how to find the garden of Eden. Forgetting the giant grizzly bear, I clutched my daddy’s hand and followed him onwards, through the crowded path and past the other wild, exotic animals straight to the elephants. I squealed in utter delight as I peered through the tall metal bars at the gigantic, trunked animals and then turned back around to hug my daddy. Back and forth I went from gaping wide eyed and grinning ear to ear at the elephants to hugging my daddy for bringing me to see them. I loved the elephants, but I loved my daddy a thousand times more and I trusted him. I trusted him when he told me to follow him and I believed him when he told me where we were going. Sure, I was excited to see the elephants, but that wasn't the real reason I followed him. I followed him because I knew him.

Since then, I have forgotten how to trust. I say that I trust Jesus, but when life gets hard and things don’t go the way that I hoped or expected, I begin to doubt him; doubt that he’s still with me, doubt that he still loves me, doubt that he’s still in control. Imagine what would happen if we were to let him take our hand and lead us because he is God and we are not and he loves us no matter what our circumstances? What if we were to praise him even when life is painful?

One of the Psalmists wrote “Come, let us sing to the Lord! Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods,” (Psalm 95: 1 - 3). In other words, he says that we should praise God simply for who he is. He is our rock or as Jesus would say, “anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise like a person who builds a house on a solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock,” (Matthew 7: 24 - 25). When we put our hope in Christ, we can have peace and joy even when our lives are full of pain and chaos. If we put our hope in anything else, our jobs, our talents, our relationships, our wealth, or whatever that maybe, our hope will be unstable. When hardship hits, we fall apart. Jobs are lost, people fail us, and no matter how talented we are at something, there’s always going to be someone even more talented than us. The truth is, if we only trust God when life is good, we don’t really trust him. We can go to church, say our prayers, and do our best to follow his commandments, but if we only trust and praise him when life is going the way we want, we’re really trusting and worshiping the blessings that he has placed in our lives rather than trusting and worshiping him. I’m not saying this because I’m perfect and only trust in God even when I’m in pain, in fact, quite the opposite is true. I am so guilty of putting my hope in everything else around me instead of the God who made and loves me. In full honesty, I’m preaching to myself more than I am anyone else, but we have all gone astray and lost sight of what really matters because that’s part of being human. The prophet Isaiah put it this way, “all of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all,” (Isaiah 53: 6). We all have sinned and put our hope in things of this world and we are all in desperate need of a savior. That’s why Christ died for us. He had to break the barrier that our sin and rebellion had built between us and him. We need to turn away from all the other things in our life that we are going to for hope; the idols of success and approval and run straight into the arms of Jesus.

One of my favorite faith stories in the whole Bible is found in the book of Daniel. The story is told in Babylon after the Babylonians have defeated the Judean Israelites and taken all the royalty and other people of influence back to Babylon as captives. These Isrealites went from a life of power and luxury to being prisoners of war in a land full of enemies with completely opposite moral and religious values than them. You can imagine that trusting God wasn’t easy after God let them be defeated in battle and forced out of the promised land. The Babylonians also raided the temple; destroying religious artifacts. They even took some home and put them in the treasury of their pagan gods, (Daniel 1 : 2). The people of Judah probably felt abandoned by God. Imagine if someone raided your hometown, killed most of your friends and family and took the rest of you off with them as captives. At the very least, most of us would have some trust issues. Most people would give up on their faith under their circumstances. However, that is not at all the sort of story that we find in the book of Daniel. During the Isrealite’s time in Babylon, the Babylonian king, Nebuchnezzar, had a 90 feet tall statue of pure gold made and then ordered that all his people, including those of all races, religious groups, and cultures, to bow down and worship it. He also ordered that anyone who refused to do so should be thrown into a blazing furnace. Because they didn’t want to be burned alive, everyone in all of Babylon hastily got down on their hands and knees except for three Isrealites who were the only ones in all of the kingdom left standing. Some of the king’s officials informed him that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego weren’t obeying his orders so he had them brought before him for questioning. He threatened to throw them into his blazing furnace if they didn’t bow down before his statue. However, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves to 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, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.’

“Nebuchnezzar 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. So they tied them up and threw them into the furnace, fully dressed in their pants, turbans, robes, and other garments. And because the king, in his anger, had demanded such a hot fire in the furnace, the flames killed the soldiers as they threw the three men in. So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, securely tied, fell into the roaring flames.

“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!’

“Then Nebuchadnezzar came as close as he could to the door of the flaming furnace and shouted: ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!’

“So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stepped out of the fire. Then the high officers, officials, governors, and advisors crowded around them and saw that the fire had not touched them. Not a hair on their heads was singed, and their clothing was not scorched. They didn’t even smell like smoke!

“Then Nebuchadnezzar said, ‘Praise to the God of Shadrach, Mechach, and Abedngo! He sent his angel to rescue his servants who trusted in him. They defined the king’s command and were willing to die rather than serve or worship any god except their own God…,” (Daniel 3: 16 - 28). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedngo had every reason to doubt that God would protect them. He had let their nation be conquered and then let them be taken off as prisoners of war to a foreign land. By looking at their circumstances, anyone would have thought that God had completely abandoned them. However, they weren’t looking to their circumstances for hope. They were looking to the God who promises to never abandon or forsake his people, (Hebrew 13: 5). This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said that we should walk by faith and not by sight, (2 Corinthians 5: 7). Faith is the type of trust that relies on knowing the person’s character rather than looking at our circumstances. When we truly know our Abba Father, we can be confident in our faith in him and his loving plan for our lives even when the world around us is falling apart. In my Abba’s arms, I know I am loved and he will fight for me even when I am grieving and my heart is broken. I can praise God and follow his lead even when it means being thrown into a blazing furnace and so can you. We have to remember our Abba; remember who he is. When we do this, we can walk through fire and dance through the darkest night. No matter what happens we know he is right by our side.

If you have any questions or would like to learn more about The C.A.N Sisters’ Ministry, leave a comment below, check out our website, or email us at cansistersministry@gmail.com.