“He said, ‘O man of high esteem, do
not be afraid. Peace be with you; take
courage and be courageous!” Now as soon
as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, ‘May my Lord speak, for you
have strengthened me.” (Dan. 10:19).
Hey
Gang: How many out there would agree
with me that Daniel was one tough dude?
Now think about what was dealt to him as a teen ager. He was captured and taken to a foreign land;
his country was destroyed and people taken into bondage; he was in a strange
culture and, perhaps most pressing, he was chosen to be a satrap-in-training in
the kings court- which placed him under the threat of death at any time.
He certainly
had to make some tough decisions. They
attempted to mold the brightest and best-looking lads into Chaldean’s. Every attempt was made to “brain wash” them,
remove their Jewishness, and take the appearance of Chaldean’s. Their choice was to be obedient or face
death. But, when it came to his eating
habits, Daniel drew the line. He would have no part of defiling himself by
eating of the King’s food, which had been sacrificed to idols. When the rubber-hit-the-road Daniel declared,
“I will not defile myself”.
Daniel had
purpose in his life and he knew who he was in God’s eyes. Do you ever feel the need to take a
stand? In this age when everything
Christian is under attack, have you faced times when you need to shout “No, I will not defile myself”.
We need to
take a peek at Daniel’s life and find the keys that gave him the backbone to
trust in the Lord under all circumstance!
First, he was a fervent pray-er warrior. He knelt three times a day, facing Jerusalem
before an open window, praying fervently for the restoration of his country. In Chapter 9 we find a model prayer that each
believer should have on their desk and use as a model when praying for our
nation.
This he did
even though a trumped-up decree was pushed through in the dark of the night-
forbidding anyone to pray to, or for, anyone or thing but King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel knew that the sleaze-bag club would
run to the King and report Daniel’s dastardly deed, if he defied the King’s law-
and they knew Daniel would.
Note: Daniel
did not get all in a dither, for he knew that God had placed him there for a
purpose and, if his mission was completed, so be it, but if not, then he would
close the pussy cat’s mouths. We know
the rest of the story.
Is it
possible to have such trust and faith in our Savior and Lord? Not without being
in constant contact with Abba Father, keeping the Armor of God in place, and
filling your heart with the Word of God.
Folks, this I can guarantee you, today, you will come against something
that is contrary to God’s will- and you must choose! Will you allow yourself to
be defiled? Or will you stand in the face of adversity and say, “No way, I will not be defiled”?
One does not
have to be a rocket scientist to see that the world is being shaken. God’s strength
is always available to us! BUT, we must avail ourselves of that strength by inputting
the promises of God into our heart, soul and mind. “God
is our refuge and strength” (Psa. 46:1; Eph. 3:16-17).
Blessings,
Gramps
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