The Fiery Furnace

Our story has aired on tv! If you missed it, you can view it online at the 11 Alive website. Under comments, my friend Kelly posted the exact link. We're very excited that God has opened this door and are eager to see how He uses this. My mom was disappointed that the news reporters didn't thank Hasan's family for hosting us or thank all of you for praying and God for taking care of us. She talked about all of this in the interview.
My friend Cindie has a son who is a Navy SEAL. She regularly sends news of his training and now his work. I don't know much about war and combat and such. However, as I read each of her messages I think about how similar the physical training and warfare is to that in the spiritual realm. There is no doubt that we're in a war. For every victory, the enemy attacks harder by trying to lie to us that we won't really be home soon, by attackng us physically, by trying to bring despair, sadness, and apathy, and on and on. We value your prayers, especially now at the end of our journey. Please continue to praise God, too, as He is working in amazing ways.
My friend Lisa sent me a commentary on the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in Daniel 3. These three men refused to obey the king and worship a gold image. They would only worship God. Therefore, the king threw them into a fiery furnace. God delivered them, much to the king's astonishment. He then turned to God as a result of their faith and God's miracle. Nadeem and I have been reading and reflecting on this story. Several parts stick out to me. First, the men had great faith. "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, o king." Next, the king recognized the power of God: "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him.....How great are His signs, and how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to generation."
We believe this! We believe that God will deliver us!
Something I've pondered for many weeks now is whether I'm more interested in the deliverance or the Deliverer. Being delivered from here won't bring satisfaction. Oh, believe me, we will rejoice like never before to come home!!! However, if we don't know God and value Him first, then the joy will be short lived. Only God can truly satisfy.
Being here has been so difficult...and we have God with us and for us! I cannot even imagine going through this without God. Sometimes we feel He has left us, but He will never leave us or forsake us. That's worth rejoicing!