"The Smell of Smoke" by The Martins
Woah-woah-woah, woah-woah
Woah-woah-woah
Woah-woah-woah, woah-woah
Woah-woah-woah
[Verse 1]
They wouldn't bow to an idol
They wouldn't bend a knee (No)And in the desert, Nebuchadnezzar sent us to Hebrew 3
And fore the stand they were taken
They'd face the furnace fire
Seven times hotter than it had been
Yeah, the soldiers threw them in but
[Chorus]There was a fourth man in the flame
Everybody watchin', they were amazed
When Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego
They came out of the fire
Didn't even smell of smoke
[Interlude]Woah-woah-woah, woah-woah
[Verse 2]
There will be days when we're tested
Tempted to compromise
But just remember that [?]
The Lord is with you just like when...
[Chorus]There was a fourth man in the flame
Everybody watchin', they were amazed
When Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego
They came out of the fire
Didn't even smell of smoke[Interlude]
Woah-woah-woah[
Bridge
]They didn't bend
They didn't bow
But someway, somehow[
Chorus 2]
There was a fourth man in the flame
When Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego
They came out of the fire
Didn't even smell of smoke.
There was a fourth man in the flame
Everybody watchin', they were amazed
When Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego
They came out of the fire
Didn't even smell of smoke
Reading the lyrics of a great song can never, in my opinion, give you the essence of why it's a "great song," but they can, perhaps entice you to go find the song to listen to. Which I hope you will do in this case. You won't be sorry.
“The Smell of Smoke,” by The Martins has become a recent favorite. I love it for a couple of reasons. One, it makes me wonder what if things had turned out differently for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. What if in place of being delivered from the furnace that day, they perished? Would their witness of faith be any less? Would their story be any less worth telling? I don’t think so. Their unwavering faith in God marked and shaped every aspect of who they were and how they lived. Their faith wasn’t great because they survived the threat of death. Their faith was great because they believed in God.
This is why, for me, Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego will always serve as the “poster children” of those who refuse to define their lives by the circumstances surrounding them. Theirs is not a conditional, bargaining kind of faith, but rather one that says, “We entered into a covenant and a promise with God and we choose to see it through. In place of our present circumstances dictating our choices, we choose our relationship with God to be our most faithful guide. More than this, we choose to believe God will always have our backs...whether we can see God’s presence or not. Regardless if our prayers are answered the way we hope and pray, WE STILL CHOOSE GOD.” Pretty amazing, isn't it?"
So what circumstances are trying hard to define your life just now?
What flames are licking at your heels, tempting you to make choices out of fear, distrust, and blame?
What's happening in the world around you that has you so discouraged and dismayed, it's hard to sense God's presence close by?
May Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego’s powerful witness encourage our own faith to trust, that no matter how hot or dire the fire may get or be, there is ALWAYS the loving presence of God in Christ bearing the flames with us.
The second reason this song tops my playlist is for all the ways it inspires me to have some ATTITUDE about my faith....”Shadrack, Meshack, Abednego....they came out of the fire and they didn’t even smell of smoke. Whoa Whoa." NOW THAT'S ATTITUDE!!”
It’s a song that reminds me we’re in relationship with the greatest POWER and LOVE there is. It really is as the Apostle Paul says...
“ We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-10
And if this is the case, I think we should have some ATTITUDE about it... not one of arrogance, self-righteousness, or suggests we have all of the answers, but a faithful ATTITUDE that says,
“I’m going to pull out all of the stops on the way I show up in the world and offer love to those around me. I’m going to let my faith burn bright like there’s no tomorrow. I’m going to show up with gumption, love and joy because I am loved and held by the ONE who does have all of the answers and whose love will never let me go.!!”
I know this doesn’t come easy, especially when the needs of our communities and the world are great. I know it’s not easy when there’s so much we’re holding in our hearts for those we love and care for and for all we hope for ourselves and the world. But perhaps we can bring some of our faithful ATTITUDE into our prayer life and pray for each other’s faithful ATTITUDES. Perhaps we can pray for each other to show up in the world like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego... refusing to define our lives and choices by the hard circumstances before us and lean in to God's undying, steadfast, relentless, and faithful presence with us, instead.
As we think about the remaining Lenten days before us and beyond how might you pray for those you most love and care for with some faithful ATTITUDE ? How might we all pray for those in our neighborhoods, community and for those whose stories we can't imagine or conceive? How are we praying for our churches, governments, leaders, and those in positions of power and resource? How are we even finding the words to pray for the world's overwhelming, great need? How are we praying for those we don't like, can't begin to understand, and whose criminal actions make us believe they don't deserve a place in the world? How are we praying for those who are so lost and broken it's hard to keep holding out hope that transformation will come? And how are we praying for ourselves, knowing full well that what we struggle with so much in others is often lurking in our own hearts and lives? I don't know how we begin to offer any of these prayers without a little faithful ATTITUDE.
So, what if we mark today as the day we unleash this very thing... faithful ATTITUDES ready to follow Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego's lead? What if... regardless if our prayers are answered or not.... WE STILL CHOOSE GOD?” Will it be easy? No. Especially when the needs of our communities and the world are great and when there is so much we're holding in our hearts for those we love and care for and for all we hope for ourselves and the world. But if we can keep helping each other cling to the truth that we’re in relationship with the greatest POWER and LOVE there is, I believe we'll find we can step into whatever fire is before us and come out not even smelling the smoke.
May God's faithful Power and Love be the undying presence that holds us and keeps us all, now and always. Lenten Blessings, Leslee
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