This past week at camp I was presented with the tremendous privilege of teaching the word of God by the way of a sermon. This particular sermon was over the topic of Daniel and his faith that helped him to accomplish hard things. This week’s blog post is a summary (the full outline can be viewed here) of that which I talked about. Daniel did 3 things that were difficult in his lifetime. Daniel:
Chose to make the right decision and stick with it – Daniel’s entire world was changed when Jerusalem was taken over by the Babylonians. Everything from his way of life to his name was changed and yet Daniel decided that he was going to do as God wanted. In Daniel 6.7-9 we read that people were supposed to not pray to anyone but King Darius; however when Daniel heard this he immediately went and prayed to God.
Do we struggle with making the right decision? I think oftentimes we know what it is that we should do and yet we hesitate because of our peers. We’re afraid of what our friends will think or say about us. We have to remember that it’s the “narrow path” (Matthew 7.13-14) that leads to life, not the “broad path”.
Daniel: Crowded himself with godly friends – We are introduced to Daniel’s friends in Daniel 1.6. We are told their names are Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (later changed to Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego). In Daniel 3.8-30 we see what these friends were like. They were going to do what God wanted them to no matter what…even if that meant being thrown in a fiery furnace (Dan. 3.17-18)!
Do we have friends like this? Do we surround ourselves with positive or negative influences? I think it’s time we really evaluate who it is that is influencing us in our day to day life. The saying: “You are what you eat” can be applied here. You pick up tendencies of those whom you hang around with. The question for us is are we choosing good friends or bad ones (1 Cor. 15.33)?
Daniel: Continued being faithful through trials – Daniel was faced with a big trial. This trial? Being placed in a lion’s den. Daniel could’ve avoided that completely had he just listened to the kings decree, but since that decree went against what God wanted Daniel made the decision to be put through trials. Daniel didn’t give up after this ordeal in the lion’s den. He continued to serve God through the rest of his life.
Do we stay faithful through our trials or just give up? We’re probably not going to face anything like the lion’s den as far as physical trial is concerned, but can’t we be so overwhelmed by sin that it feels like we’re in a spiritual lion’s den? We have to realize that the trials we face are polishing us for a better, harder trial later on (James 1.2-3).
Today I want to challenge you to follow this example of Daniel who chose, crowded and continued. These qualities helped Daniel to accomplish hard things and are what we need if we wish to accomplish hard things ourselves! -Jack D.
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