Withstand

NOW YOU SEE ME

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.

He 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. (Daniel 3:24-25)

I can’t believe I got the artist’s permission for this one! He even emailed the file from Milan so I wouldn’t have to take a picture of a picture. This illustration is so effective at portraying the famous story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. Verse 27 holds multiple miracles: the fire had no power on their bodies, a single strand of head hair wasn't singed, their furry animal skin coats were not damaged, and they didn’t even smell like fire.

I do not equate deliverance to coming out unscathed from every personal furnace, but I also believe in miracles because I have come out unscathed here and there. Most of my deliverance looks a little toasted, but I'm wiser for the wear. 

NOW YOU DON’T

Think of what the Prophet Joseph Smith saw in a vision and recorded of the Apostles preaching in England: “I saw the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb, who are now upon the earth, who hold the keys of this last ministry, in foreign lands, standing together in a circle, much fatigued, with their clothes tattered and feet swollen, with their eyes cast downward, and Jesus standing in their midst, and they did not behold Him. The Savior looked upon them and wept.” (Elder Ronald A. Rasband of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles quoting “History, 1838-1856, volume B-1 [1 September 1834-2 November 1838],” 696, The Joseph Smith Papers)

How can I not think of the thousands of missionaries around the world right now—including my young friends in Fiji, Brazil, Albania and Germany—who might be feeling very tattered from the announcement this week? I hope they know the Lord is ever with his name-bearers.

It also reminds me of one of the best lines in “Let Us All Press On” (one of my fight-fear-with-faith anthems): BUT AN UNSEEN POWER WILL AID ME AND YOU IN THE GLORIOUS CAUSE OF TRUTH

There you have it. Fear not!

BUT I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE

And it came to pass that the servants did go and labor with their mights; and the Lord of the vineyard labored also with them; and they did obey the commandments of the Lord of the vineyard in all things. (Jacob 5:72)

Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you; and ye shall bear record of me, even Jesus Christ, that I am the Son of the living God, that I was, that I am, and that I am to come. (Doctrine & Covenants 68:6)

AND WHEN IT’S ALL SAID AND DONE I HOPE YOU KNOW ME

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?

And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 

They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.

For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:9, 13-17)

Can you even imagine? I want to be there, in the numberless mass of tried and trues shouting, “Hosanna!” to the God that guided me to the other side of tribulation, and to the Lamb that set my troubled heart at liberty*. 

IN CASE YOU MISSED THE POINT

"God can be trusted. . . . No matter how serious the trial, how deep the distress, how great the affliction, He will never desert us. He never has, and He never will. He cannot do it. It is not His character. He is an unchangeable being. . . . He will [always] stand by us. We may pass through the fiery furnace; we may pass through deep waters; but we shall not be consumed nor overwhelmed. We shall emerge from all these trials and difficulties the better and purer for them." -George Q. Cannon

Photo is a crop of "The Story of the Fiery Furnace from Chapter 3 of the Book of Daniel" by Lorenzo Gritti, used gratefully with permission. Photo quote from Doctrine & Covenants 68:6

* “set our hearts at liberty” is a favorite lyric from “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”

When The Pretenders’ “I’ll Stand By You” debuted in summer of 1994 I was transitioning to college. Two friends in my first semester weight-lifting class, Olivia and Kendrick, promised to buy me the cassette single from the mall if I hit my bench and sit-up goals. I did (no one was more surprised than I) and we blasted it in the gym’s boombox until Christmas Break separated us forever. (The irony of us not standing by each other is not lost on me.)