The Hairbrush and the Fire

I'll never forget René Breuel's closing words as he taught about the fiery furnace in Daniel 3. He had been recounting the miracles that unfolded in the account but I wasn't ready for his concluding statement. And I couldn't have imagined that my own hairbrush would become part of my story, too.

For backstory, the account in Daniel reveals how three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, were bound - clothing, tunics, hats, and all - and thrown into a fiery furnace, heated 7x hotter than usual (see Danl. 3:19 & 21). *Note: This fire was so hot that the people who threw them into it actually died from the heat.

This was an extremely cruel punishment by King Nebuchadnezzar for their refusing to bow to him. But where is the mercy of God in this account?

Let's look at the miracles that unfold:

1. Rather than catching on fire instantly and burning to death, we learn that only their ropes burned off and that all three men could walk around the furnace, unbound, and fully clothed.

2. Although three men were thrown into the furnace, four men walked around it, the fourth one who appeared among them being Jesus whom the people described as "one like the son of the gods" (See Dan. 3:25).

3. But my favorite miracle in this account occurs in v. 27 which says that they were brought out of the fire, with no evidence that they had even been in it.

"The fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them." (Dan. 3:27)

Wow! Talk about a miracle. Their clothing wasn't harmed? Their hair wasn't burned? They didn't even smell like smoke?

But that wasn't all.

See, it wasn't just that the lives of these three faithful men were spared in the fire but - the most precious reality was - that Jesus met with them in it and walked with them there.

And that's when René dropped the mic. He concluded with:

"Do you find yourself in the fire now? Well, it's time to brush your hair and get dressed. This fire is your appointment to meet with Jesus."

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Fast forward about a year or so when I unexpectedly found myself suffering yet another severe concussion.

After a year of being largely symptom-free, I was suddenly sentenced back to total darkness and quietness, to solitude and intense pain that relentlessly surged throughout my brain. I often wasn't able to lay my head on anything - not even the softest pillow - because the pain was too great. I wasn't able to be awake during the day because the light coming through even shaded windows was far too bright.

I had been through concussions before but - this time - it felt like the fire had been heated 7x hotter than usual, especially since this one was the result of a friend who acted carelessly and disregarded my pleas for caution regarding my head. I was burning with the injustice.

In a moment, a person made one offensive decision that sentenced me to over a year of medical bills, searing pain (that actually felt like fire burning inside my brain), and the temporary inabilities to read, write, work, drive, open the shades in my room, leave the house, be on screens, listen to audio, etc.

Needless to say, I was fuming with the injustice of it all. Why was my brain so susceptible to such awful concussions?

Doesn't God know how much I love being active and that I'm too extroverted to be alone in my dark bedroom for months on end, sleeping sometimes up to 18hrs/day?

That's when René's words from a year earlier echoed in my heart.

"Do you find yourself in the fire now? Well, it's time to brush your hair and get dressed. This fire is your appointment to meet with Jesus."

It was convicting. I needed to take action.

For those of you who don't know, many of my concussions have left me in a predicament of not being able to brush my hair, simply because of the pressure applied to my head when my hairs are tugged on ever so slightly. With that, I've often gone multiple days on end without brushing my hair just to spare myself accentuated pain.

Similarly, because I slept so much and couldn't leave the house, my outfits largely consisted of lounge-around-the-house clothes.

However, that night, my heart knew what I needed to do. This fire was my appointment with Jesus and I wasn't going to be burned by it. I was going to find Him in it.

That's when I grabbed my brush and with it, carefully combed through my hair for the first time in days. I replaced my lounge clothes for one of my favorite sun dresses. To go the extra mile, I even sprayed a little bit of perfume to feel extra ready for this appointment with Jesus.

And then I worshipped.

It was so moving. He met me in such a special way that night and He's continued to meet with me in the hottest fires I've faced.

What fire do you find yourself in now? What would it look like for you to grab a hairbrush and treat it as your appointment with Jesus?

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If you haven't read my previous blog, The Ultimate Choice, please go back and read through the poem "Sweeter." The lines "May I meet with you in each hardship that to met gets assigned" and "May the heat be effective my gold to refine" were taken specifically from this very night, from my experience with the hairbrush and the fire.