A Committee of One – November 4, 2021

Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?” They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.” He said, “Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.”
Daniel 3:24,25

A Committee of One

Generally speaking, there is strength in numbers. The more people you have working together on a task, the more likely you are to be successful at completing that task, especially if it’s a big one. On the other hand, there are some tasks where the best way to accomplish them is by having a committee of one. No distractions. No wrong turns. No carrying someone else’s water. A single mind with a single-minded purpose. There are times when a committee of one is the perfect solution to a problem.

The Old Testament believers—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—were facing a truly life-threatening problem. They had just been tossed into the fiery furnace prepared for them by the great Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. Death was beyond certain. Even the soldiers who had thrown them into the fire were immediately incinerated by the hellish blast. If they were to be saved, how many people would it take?

As it turns out, just one.

Three men had been cast into the fire, but when the king went to witness the demise of his doomed triplets, he “leaped to his feet in amazement. . . He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around the first, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’” Whether it was an angel of the Lord or the Lord Jesus himself, we cannot know for certain. What we can know is that those men were saved that day by a committee of One. The Lord saves his people now and forever, and he does it all by himself.

We wouldn’t want it any other way. Only Jesus is perfect. Only Jesus is all-powerful. Only Jesus is the “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). So, when it comes to our salvation now and forever, Jesus is a committee of One. He must do it, and he does it. Perfectly.

Prayer:
Jesus, help me to trust you alone for my salvation, now and always. Amen.