Even my utmost caution will never stop catastrophe. No matter how hard I try. I can strive to walk the tightrope of good, clean living, I can go to church, get involved, serve and give, I can work hard, be honest, stay out of controversy, and still... find myself at a loss as to how someone else's actions led to my misfortune. And in that frustration, I can let my feelings dictate my future, wondering... why am I standing here with a lump in my throat ready to scream at the world... How is this fair? When will this end? Where do I turn? And, the inevitable... Why me? I mean I'd totally get it... if I stepped out of line, if I did something wrong, if I failed to keep my promise and walls came tumbling upon me. But when I face trouble due to someone else's lapse... it's always been much harder for me to stop the angry, finger-pointing thoughts that simply swirled incessantly and made me want to give up. Until finally, I realized, that I was worshiping my feelings, more than I was worshiping my God. And really when did my feelings... or anyone's for that matter, CHANGE anything? When did feelings create an entire universe at just the utterance of divine words? When did feelings cause order and rhythm... raising the sun to light the day, to also reflect off the moon, giving light by night among the brilliant stars? When did feelings love so greatly that they gave a life lived to perfection for my pitiful sins? It wasn't feeling that moved God to do so, Because His love is not anything like the flimsy feeling we call love. His love is active humble, faithful, obedient, powerful, selfless, overwhelming, and true. Feelings are actually overrated. So why do I worship them? When God has given me example of others who have stepped outside their feelings into action, remained humble, faithful and obedient. Why not follow those examples... learn how those people stopped trusting feelings and placed their faith in God? For then they realized selflessness, which overwhelmed their circumstances and stood up for truth. Once such example, is found in the life of Daniel. Here was a young man who had every reason to wallow in feeling... anger, fear, and finger-pointing frustration. If you read yesterday's post, you know that Daniel had been taken captive from Judah to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. And he, along with three companions were considered to be very wise. They were added to a group of young leaders to be trained and groomed for service to the king. But then as we read on, the king awoke, troubled and disturbed by a very bad dream. He called for the magicians, sorcerers, wizards, and astrologers to come forward to help him make sense of his dream. However, the king didn't want anyone telling him just anything to appease him. He was concerned that they were not authentic in their abilities. So he became very insistent that if these were such wise people, they would not only be able to interpret the dream, but should actually know what it was before he told any part of it. IMPOSSIBLE! And that's what they told him. To which, King Nebuchadnezzar became furious and commanded that all the wise men be put to death. Actually, I believe it was... if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. Daniel 2:5 But dead, nonetheless. And, since this was a decree about all the wise men... this included Daniel and his three companions. Hmmm, so, the situation... Daniel worked hard, was honest, stayed out of controversy, and still... found himself at a loss as to how someone else's actions led to his misfortune. So he was faced with a choice. He could behave as many of us do letting our feelings dictate our future wondering, why am I standing here with a lump in my throat ready to scream at the world... How is it fair? When will it end? Where do I turn? And, the inevitable... Why me? Or... he could acknowledge his feelings for what they were, Realizing that they will never change, create, or bring order to his situation. He could turn his worship away from his feelings and toward his God. Now I'm not saying that Daniel didn't recognize the depth of the circumstance. For I doubt he just jumped for joy and thought, Oh, good, here's a chance to challenge my positive outlook on life. No, I bet he was plenty bothered that he and his friends were given a death sentence unfairly. And most likely, just like you and me, he had feelings that flooded his mind with all sorts of wild thought. But it's clear that he didn't stay there in the worship of those feelings. He didn't let his thought life spiral out of control... as often does mine. Daniel chose instead, to move into action. Daniel put feet to his faith and walked right past his feelings. He approached the captain of the guard, the very one given command to kill all the wise men, and... He boldly asked about the urgency of the king's decision. He requested an audience before the king and asked for more time to determine the dream. He then went home, told his friends, who joined him and prayed... -for mercies from God concerning the need -and protection from harm. And when the answer came in a vision to Daniel, before anything else... Daniel blessed God in Heaven -gave all glory to God above all -recognized His control -praised His wisdom -acknowledged His revelation -thanked Him in advance for answers -thanked Him even for his opponent Only then, did Daniel step forward in faith to deliver the vision God had given hm for the king who then asked... Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets... Daniel 2:26-28 So Daniel did not take credit for the vision which he was about to speak. For he gave all glory first to God. Then Daniel spoke the dream and it's interpretation as God had given him to the King. Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. The king answered Daniel, and said, "Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret. Daniel 2:46-47 And the king promoted Daniel and showered him with many great gifts, giving him high ranking position in the land. But Daniel did not accept worship fir this revelation, but gave glory to God. And Daniel did not forget his friends, for he petitioned for them as well to give them favor and future in the kingdom. This, truly an amazing turn of events. Daniel certainly could have stood about in his quarters, wringing his hands with worry, wondering when would come his time to die. But instead, he trusted God... completely. And look at all the lives he saved. Even when someone else's actions were about to cause catastrophe in his life, he made choices that brought blessings to theirs. So was there a magic formula, some great Five-Step process that we too can follow to always turn things around? Obviously not one that we can slap together and package for an infomercial. But certainly looking at the order of his action could give us some clues as to how better to behave when we face such difficulty in life. Here's what I saw Daniel do: 1. He boldly asked 2. Went home, included his friends/family 3. They joined him and prayed... -mercies from God concerning the need -and protection from harm. And when the answer came... before anything else... 4. Daniel blessed God in Heaven (v20-23) -gave all glory to God above all -recognized His control -praised His wisdom -acknowledged His revelation -thanked Him in advance for answers -thanked Him even for his opponent Everything Daniel did was centered around God and others. None of those steps were selfish or devised to only promote his feelings. And even when he delivered the vision to the king he gave all the credit to God. That alone, caused the king to bow and acknowledge our God as Lord. Something he had never considered before. What an amazing example. What a wise young man, indeed. When I am in the middle of circumstances, that cause the flood of feelings which overwhelm. am I choosing not to dwell on them? Today, I am deciding to be more like Daniel. I will worship God more than my feelings. I will be bold in asking... clarifying my problem, asking God to help me sort fact from feeling. I will tell others of my need and we will pray, pray, pray. And when my answer comes, before I move into action, I will bless God, thanking Him for all His mercies. And even IN the action, I will choose to give Him all glory. Word of God train me, today... To daily realize that my feelings will never change, create or bring order. To put feet to my faith, walking forward in worship of God alone.
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January 2019
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