Daniel

I have been reading in the book of Daniel lately and while I like so many books of the Bible, Daniel has been fun to read.  It is full of action and lessons.  Several of the stories in Daniel are those cute stories we learn as kids in Sunday School.  But reading them now, has meant so much to me. 

Many times Daniel is in place to be used by God in a mighty way.  Daniel (Belteshazzar), Hananiah (Shadrach), Mishael (Meshach) and Azariah (Abednego) were among the the men chosen by King Nebuchadnezzar to be trained for his service.  Nebuchadnezzar gave all of the men in training a daily amount of food and wine from his own table.  But these four men choose not to take it.  They wanted vegetables and water.  At the end of the three year training period, they were healthier and better than the others who ate of the king's food and drink his wine.  The king found none equal to them.  Because they followed what they believed to be right, they were rewarded.

Then we have the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.  They were told the must bow down to the idol but they knew how wrong that was.  They knew their punishment would be death by fire.  But they choose to obey God anyway and place all of their trust in Him.  As a result, God sent an angel in the furnace to protect them. 

"Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Who has sent an angel and rescued his servants.  they trusted in Him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own." Daniel 3:28

Later on King Belshazzar was having a banquet and suddenly a hand comes about and writes on the wall.  This terrified everyone and no one knew what the writing said or meant.  The king told Daniel if he could tell him what it meant he would be given a purple robe, gold necklace and be place third highest in command.  Daniel did interpret the writing, but knew it was wrong to accept the gifts.

Then later on, Daniel is faced with the decision of obeying the king's command and not praying to God or following God and be eaten by lions.  Daniel decides it is more important to follow God.  Knowing he would be punished and probably die, he prayed anyway.  Not just once, but three times every day. 

King Darius said, "For He is the living God and He endures forever; His kingdom will not be destroyed, His dominion will never end.  He rescues and He saves; He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.  He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." Daniel 6:26-27

When we are faced with hardships what will we do?  Will we serve God or will we serve man?  Daniel and his friends knew that serving God would lead to a possible death but that did not stop them from serving anyway.  Now, we may not face a death for serving God but maybe we face people talking behind our back or making fun of us.  For fear of being left out, do we go along with the gossip at work?  For fear of being laughed at, do we drink a can of beer with a friend during a game?  Do we listen to the dirty jokes and laugh along?

I want to follow the example of Daniel and follow God no matter what comes my way and no matter what the 'punishment' may be.  Serving God is worth it!  

Sweet Blessings~