The Earthquakes Of Life!

As believers, in the Lord Jesus Christ, people aren't looking for us to have it all together, BUT want to see what happens when we don't! How we respond when an earthquake of life shakes our very core! That's when God peels back our layers, so He can be seen and they say, "That's what I need in my life, I need God!" They see the extent of God's care, or recognize His strength, in the midst of our weakness. Even, in our most difficult moments ~ they see Him in us, because you see, what happens in worship, doesn't stay in worship ~ we are transformed, as we sit at His feet, then we rise and He goes with us. He shows us favor and acts on our behalf ~ God in us, radiates His love to a lost world! He, actually, uses the earthquake, our suffering, to benefit the furtherance of the gospel ~ for others to see Himself!

Daniel and his 3 friends, Hananiah, Mischael, & Azariah, in the first chapter of the book of Daniel, all experienced an earthquake in their lives and things would never be the same! What do you do when you are afraid to move forward and there's no going back? Daniel and his 3 friends did not give in to the pressures of the ungodly society they found themselves thrust into, because they had a clear purpose in life. With Christ at our center, He will give us peace and direction, in spite of our circumstances or the consequences. When our first allegiance is God, we become unshakeable!

We need "staying power" in order to fulfill our life's purpose. We must maintain our Christian distinctiveness, to be relentless in prayer, to maintain our integrity and to be content to serve God wherever He places us. Daniel and his friends were true examples of this kind of dedication and commitment. Daniel "resolved" not to become defiled or give into the pressures around him, but to obey God, no matter the outcome. Daniel chose to see the disappointment as a God appointment!

Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, in a display of his power, swept into Palestine in September of 605 B.C., in a time when the Southern kingdom of Judah had returned to it's evil ways. (God was disciplining His nation.) Nebuchadnezzar not only raided the temple of it's worship articles, but, also, took captive the wisest men and the most beautiful of women, leaving behind the poor to fend for themselves. These men were held captive to a culture that couldn't have been any more different than their own, but God was with them. He delivered Daniel from prison, from the den of the lions, and from enemies that hated him. God was with Daniel!

The king ordered Ashphenaz, chief of his court of officials, to bring in some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility ~ young men without physical defect, handsome and showing aptitude in every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand and qualified to serve in the king's palace and Daniel, Hananiah, Mischael and Azariah were chosen.

The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, meaning "God is my Judge" he gave the name Belteshazzar, which means "Bel, protect his life" (Bel was the chief Babylonian god); to Hananiah, which means "the Lord shows grace" he gave the name Shadrach, which means "under the command of Aku" (the moon god) and to Mishael, which means "Who is like God?" he gave the name Abednego, which means "Who is like Aku?" (The Babylonians were seeking to make replicas of themselves out of these young men, who served and loved the ONE and ONLY TRUE GOD.)

The men were assigned to be trained for 3 years and to a certain amount of food and wine and then they would enter the king's service. Daniel asked permission from the chief official not to be defiled by the royal foods. (Likely, some of the foods, would be considered to be unclean to the Israelites.) After a test to make sure the water and vegetable diet that Daniel requested didn't cause them to look less healthy than the others, God showed them favor and caused the chief official to agree with Daniel's diet plan.

How did Daniel and his friends survive in their new, foreign culture? They learned about it, they prayed for God's help and they maintained their integrity, and adapted to their new culture without abandoning God. At the end of the time set, Daniel and his friends were brought before the king and he talked to them and none could be found equal, so they entered the king's service.

There's much more about these heroes of faith in the book of Daniel ~ they never questioned God's Sovereignty, but continued to serve Him, even, in their circumstances. They got into some HEATED situations, maybe, we'll take a look at the consequences of their faith in the another blog! Have a great day!