Friday, June 13, 2014

We Serve A Living God

...For he is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.

Daniel 6:26

Life is full of uncertainties; however, in our focus verse today we are assured of one thing that is certain… Daniel endured much torment and ridicule for His faith, after being imprisoned because of His God we know the story of being cast into the lion’s den… I am sure that even though His faith did not waver, Daniel was filled with uncertainty regarding the outcome of His predicament… Today, I am sure that there are things in your life that don’t cause you to lose faith; however, they may have you in a position where you are unsure of how things will play out; it is in this perilous times and uncomfortable situations that we must come to know and remember that “He is the living God, and steadfast for ever…” The storms of life will have you tossing and turning from day to day, but you have an anchor whose name is Jesus that will keep you safe and stable… Even though things that you hold dear to your heart on this earth can be taken from you in the blink of an eye, you can be encouraged today by knowing that “His kingdom shall not be destroyed…” The bible declares that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever… This should provide good news to the body of Christ today as we are reminded that even though we will experience highs and lows in this life we will never fall beyond the thermostat of God’s grace… The thermostat that is Jesus Christ maintains a steady environment within us while all the things around us fluctuate from minute to minute… The passage taken from the prophetic book of Daniel reminds us today that we serve a living God, today we are reminded that in serving God we must trust Him in the most awkward and dangerous situations… 

Daniel was told that he could not pray for thirty days to the Lord, he was also told that he had to worship and pray only to king of Darius… The administration of the land didn’t like Daniel; there was nothing they could do to him in order to stop his rise in a foreign land, so they tried to cut him short by preying on his relationship with God… In this world we will found countless situations where people will see your rise and try to cut you short… They will try there best to trip you up along the way and find ways to make your life miserable… We take pride in knowing that we serve a living God who can use any situation to receive glory, honor and praise… Because of the leaders of the lands malice, because of their envy, because of their resentment, Daniel is cast into the lions den for not worshiping the king… When we decide that we aren’t going to worship man, when we decide that we aren’t going to follow suit, when we decide that we aren’t going to live according to this world we will surely face obstacles… Daniel was presented with a den of lions, we aren’t presented with that scenario literally, but we are challenged in maintaining our faith amongst a society and community driven by evil that would love to devour our hopes, steal our dreams and kill our future… We find comfort in knowing that we serve a God a faithfulness even through rough times, we find courage in knowing that we serve a God that is steadfast in the worst possible situations, we find a reason to smile when we realize that His kingdom shall not be destroyed… Your faith will be tested when you hold to God’s unchanging hand; Satan will intensify the temptations that are thrown your way when you trust the Lord and you will face opposition and remaining faithful to God… 

King Darius recognized the only true and wise God through the adversity that Daniel faced… There are a lot of situations that we encounter simply for others to recognize God’s power and sovereignty… We face trials daily so that God can manifest His power and save a soul… Notice Daniel has faith in God enough to endure hardships, he believes in God enough to face trials and tribulations; and he is adhering to God’s will despite obstacles and tragedy… If you believe that God lives, you must be willing to endure, if you believe that God saves, you must be willing to persevere, if you believe that God reigns, you must trust Him and remain faithful… One of the most important things that I teach to new disciples is that the road your traveling just took a turn for the better when you choose Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, but that you may not “immediately” see that to be true because of all the storms that you will encounter by making that choice… Darius saw Daniel’s faith and God’s faithfulness and wrote another decree that all the land should serve the God of Daniel… Your hardships are your testimony and witness to God’s love and power, endure them, persevere through them and take joy in them… The bottom line is that we serve a God that sits high and looks low, we serve a God that will never put more on us than we can bear, and we serve a God that will never allow us to be tempted beyond measure… This journey through life won’t be easy and isn’t for the weak at heart, but if you know the God you serve, you understand that every “lions den” brings forth exaltation and recognition… The words for today, believe in your God, and face your oppositions… Daniel did and was exalted, the same God the exalted Him will lift you us as well…

ALL FOR HIS GLORY!

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