The fiery furnace

I've been struggling a lot with hopelessness.  It's hard for me to look at my circumstances and see God working or trust that He will bring me out of this.  Sometimes it feels like it keeps getting harder and harder.  People keep saying, "It's going to get worse before it gets better."  Well it just keeps getting worse and I'm wondering where the "better" is.  There have been days where it seems like I was able to take one baby step forward and for a little while I have a sense of hope.  And then the next day it feels as though I just fell 3 huge steps backward.  I keep reminding myself of the things God HAS brought me out of and all the ways He HAS delivered me, sometimes that's all I have to hold on to-- the truth of who He is.
The other day I went for a run and as I was listening to my music, the Holy Spirit reminded me of a story in Daniel 3.  The story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  Basically the king made this huge golden image and told all the people that when the music plays, they must all bow down and worship this image.  Shad, Mesh and Abed (nicknames I gave them) refused to worship the idol of course because they served the one true God.  The king gave them one more chance and when they still wouldn't bow down he became so mad that he threw them in a huge furnace.  As soon as the guards threw them in the fire, the king jumped up and saw not 3 but 4 men in the fire!!  Who was the fourth man?  The one true God-- who walks through our trials with us and delivers us from the hands of the wicked.
I've heard this story several times but when I went back and read it God simply said, "I'm in the fire with you."  Here I am whining about my circumstances while Jesus is sitting in the middle of it with me and at the same time working through the situations to reveal His glory.  Back to the story...once the king realized that there were 4 men in the fire, he called all of them out and the fire had not harmed them nor their clothes!  Immediately the king commanded that everyone worship the King of kings-- the God of Shad, Mesh and Abed.
We can't see the big picture and we have no idea what God is doing.  But He is always doing something great and no matter how hard things get and even when it seems like things are heading downhill and fast--that's usually right when God is about to perform a miracle and reveal something that we could've never thought possible!! 

"Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon." 

-Daniel 3:30