The small group I lead is currently studying the book of Daniel. This gem of the word of God is often times overlooked as a piece of literature that holds three of the most loved Bible stories of Bible school, but not much more. As I have reread the chapters over the past weeks, I have been astonished at the wealth of knowledge this book contains for how to live a Godly and devoted life in spite of adversity.
Consider with me Daniel 1....
Daniel had everything going on, we know that he was from noble blood and was potentially royal. He had been set out from life as a chosen one of God, being of the children of Israel...then Babylon seizes Jerusalem and he and three of his best friends are taken into slavery, captivity in Babylon.
Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people
of Israel, both of the royal family and of nobility,
youths without blemis, of good appearance and skillful in all
wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding,
learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace.
Daniel 1:3-4
Interesting, isn't it? That the King wanted the best of the best. When he looked to take some of God's chosen people captive, he didn't chose the people already slaves, but those of royal blood, those with knowledge, those devoted to the Way.
How often in our own lives do we feel as though we are under an attack of the enemy? It seems as though everyone else is getting their blessing, everyone else is getting their happy ending, and we are plucked out of God's plan and placed in an uncomfortable cell of sorrow, and faced with whether our faith is strong enough to withstand it?
Something I find so revealing about this passage is not the fact that Jerusalem was overthrown, but that God was in it all along.
And the Lord GAVE Jehoiakin king of Judah into his hand... (vs. 2)
WHAT?!? I thought God was supposed to be on the side of the faithful! Where are you God when I feel alone, abandoned not only by my people, but now by my Lord?
Sometimes God doesn't make sense so that a greater miracle can be performed.
God is in our weeping, He is in our confusion, He is in our isolation. So many times God not only is in our pain, but he allows it to make us instruments to show His glory. In the life of Daniel, God had a much greater purpose. He PLANTED Daniel in a place of pain so he could be ELEVATED to a place of honor.
Why does God test the faithful ones??
Just like in the story of Job, we know that neither Daniel or his friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abindego would back down from their devotion to Yahweh. But Daniel Resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank. (vs. 8)
What would happen if the faithful of God decided we would not conform to the world we have been placed in to reach? If we refused to be defiled by the circumstances around us and the pain and loneliness that penetrates the deepest parts of our lives? Maybe, just maybe the Kingdom of God could be advanced as it was in the story of Daniel.
Perhaps God has placed you in a place that isn't comfortable so you can be elevated to a place of FAVOR.
As you continue reading in Daniel, we see that God gave Him favor Ten Times better than all the magicians enchanters that were in all his kingdom. (1:20)
What would it be like if we looked at every test, every trial in our lives as an opportunity for the Favor of God to be displayed? The Favor of God is His goodness, poured out over our lives in a way that we could never ASK or IMAGINE. God placed Daniel in a sticky situation so Daniel could be ELEVATED to second in command of one of the greatest empires of all time....
God is in Your Isolation, He is in Your Pain, and He is ALWAYS looking out for our Good.
