Corona Devo 1822
Is your life anything but perfect today?
Mine too.
Just a reminder that sometimes we think our lives should look/feel/be/appear "perfect", but that's a myth. Nobody's life is perfect.
Life wasn’t perfect for Daniel (in the Bible). Did we know that he got recruited (taken) out of his hometown, away from his family and he had to go and work for (and serve) a king of another country called Babylonia. That king didn’t follow God like Daniel did and the king even changed Daniel's name! (Can you imagine if someone made US change our name?).
…They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. ~Daniel 2:5, 7
These guys were living and working in a foreign land, and things were not perfect for them. They missed their families, and no one around them believed in God like they did. But they did their best, infact, they BECAME the best soldiers out of all the ones being trained for the king.
We are put into situations that are not perfect too. Sometimes life is very hard. But God sees us. And He’s with us, and He helps us, just like He helped Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. (18) …the chief of staff brought all the young men… (19) The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So they entered the royal service. (20) Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any…in his entire kingdom. ~Daniel 1:17-20
But sometimes when things are going well for us, other people get jealous, and there were some guys that worked for the king that started to hate Daniel and his friends.
They TRIED to catch Daniel doing bad things, but they couldn’t. (Isn't that awesome?!) Daniel worked hard, and he would always pray to the Lord, those were his main activities, but the bad guys got wise to Daniel. They had the idea to convince the king that if anyone prayed to someone OTHER THAN HIM, then they should get punished.
The king didn’t know the bad guys were trying to trick him to corner (and kill) Daniel and his friends, so the king agreed to the new law.
So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! (7) We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that…any person who prays to anyone…—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions…
(9) So King Darius signed the law. ~Daniel 6:6-7, 9
Life (already) wasn't perfect for Daniel, but what do you think he did with this (new) decree not to pray to God, (and just to pray to the king)?
What would WE do?
How important is God to us?
But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. ~Daniel 6:10
Daniel didn’t do ANYTHING different. He did what he had always done, because no one was going to cut God out of his life. Daniel knew that there might be consequences, but he stayed true to his faith anyway, and so should we.
Life's not perfect, but it is and will-be better with God. We might have to make sacrifices to be with Him.
The bad guys after Daniel made sure that there WERE consequences, and then went crying to the king:
Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. (12) So they went straight to the king and reminded him about his law. “Did you not sign a law that…any person who prays to anyone–except to you—will be thrown into the den of lions?”
“Yes,” the king replied, “that decision stands; it is an official law…that cannot be revoked.”
(13) Then they told the king, “That man Daniel…is ignoring you and your law. He still prays to his God three times a day.”
(14) Hearing this, the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. ~Daniel 6:11-14:
Daniel and his friends were hard workers, they were smart and they did not cause trouble (I hope that we are in this "group" on a daily basis too). The king liked them a lot. (If we do the right things then it’s easy for people to like us, too.)
But the haters kept on hating, and because Daniel and his friends stayed true to God, they had to get locked in a cave with hungry lions.
This is a true story:
So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.”
(17) A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed (it)...with his own royal seal… so that no one could rescue Daniel… (19) Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. (20) When he got there, he called out in a worried voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?”
(21) Daniel answered, “Long live the king! (22) My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.”
(23) The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God. ~Daniel 6:16-23
It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?
Daniel and his friends trusted God to take care of them.... and He did. Daniel and his friends stood up for God, and even though things got crazy, God protected them. Things will get crazy and difficult sometimes for us in our lives too. Life is not perfect. But God is, and we can trust Him.
We can and should stick to honoring God. There were consequences for the bad guys that didn’t honor the Lord:
Then the king gave orders to arrest the men who had said bad things about Daniel. He had them thrown into the lions’ den… The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den. ~Daniel 6:24
The best part of the story is that the faith of Daniel and his friends showed others that God is real. Our faith will show others that also. The king was so impressed that he made a new law:
Then King Darius wrote to people of all nations, no matter what language they spoke. He said, “May you have great success! (26) “I order people in every part of my kingdom to respect and honor Daniel’s God. “He is the living God. He will live forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His rule will never end. (27) He sets people free and saves them. He does miraculous signs and wonders. He does them in the heavens and on the earth. He has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.” ~Daniel 6:25-27
~~~
Dear Jesus, Thank you for the Truth that You ARE the living God that will live forever. Even when life's not perfect for us, we are grateful to follow your Truth of the Bible in a world where many make up their own truth. Just as Daniel stayed faithful to You, help us to try and do the same today. Protect us from the “lions” we face and make us bold in our faith. Amen.
Blessings,
Comments
Post a Comment