Baptist City Blog

Full of Fury

Daniel 3:19

"Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated."

Nebuchadnezzar nearly made a disastrous decision because of fury.  The only reason why Nebuchadnezzar didn't have the innocent blood of the three Hebrew children on his hands is because God stepped in to save their lives.  Nebuchadnezzar's fury moved him to make bad decisions and to do bad things.  

The word "fury" means, "a storm of anger; rage; madness." In other words, fury is reacting in the heat of the moment. He was furious because these young men made him look bad.  He was furious because his pride stepped in the way. When you study this story, you see that fury did several things to Nebuchadnezzar and it will do the same things to you if you don't control your reactions.  

First, fury changed Nebuchadnezzar's countenance for the worse. Notice it says in the verse above, "...the form of his visage was changed..."Fury causes a loving person to become unloving. Fury causes a gracious person to become ungracious. Fury changes a good person into a bad person. One moment of fury can change the way people will perceive you forever. Therefore, you need to be sure that you don't react in the heat of the moment.  

Second, fury changed Nebuchadnezzar's outlook about good people. In the verse above, Nebuchadnezzar had no problem with these three young men until his moment of fury.  It is amazing how your perception of people changes when you are furious. People who are good people will become bad in your perception because your fury blinds you from seeing how good they truly are. Fury will cause you to disrespect people whom you have respected for years. It can be very embarrassing if you don't control your fury.  

Third, fury moved Nebuchadnezzar to make an unwise, hasty decision. Hasty decisions rarely bring good results. When you become furious, you will make unwise, hasty decisions that you will most likely regret later on in life. In a fit of fury, many married couples leave their spouse only to regret that decision later on in life. In a fit of fury, many children do things to spite their parents only to regret that decision later on in life.  Be careful about allowing your fury to cause you to make hasty decisions.  

Last, fury emptied Nebuchadnezzar of good.  When you're "full of fury" then that means you are emptied of anything else.  You can't be full of one thing without pushing everything else out. When you allow yourself to be filled with fury, you then allow the fury to push any good that you have out of you.  Thus, you do things you will regret.  

Christian, if you are a person who is prone to react, then you are probably a person prone to be filled with fury. Don't let fury fill you.  The best way to overcome being filled with fury is to fill yourself with good.  Just like being full of fury pushes all good out, likewise being full of good will push all bad out.  Fill yourself with good and you will find fury will have no place in your life.