Tough Times

So, I have just begun to read and consider the book of Daniel, so far we have met; Daniel, Hanahaih, Mishael and Azariah; teenage lads who have been exiled from Israel and are now enrolled into an enforced leadership program in the Babylonian empire. They are specially selected Jewish boys of royal/noble birth, good looking and intelligent. They are also young lads that we discover have an unshakeable faith in God. Even though these young men have been snatched away from their country and thrown into a different context and culture, they still seek to honour God. They have kept the Law and lived their lives acknowledging, following and serving Him all whilst in captivity. For three years, these teenage boys, along with others, have been indoctrinated into Babylonian culture and affairs, and are likely about 17 years old as we read verse 17;

As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. 

Clearly these 'youths' stand out from the others around them, other young teenage lads, also in exile, also in the same program. Yet Daniel, Hanahiah, Mishael and Azariah are beginning to be recognised as different, as those of 'learning and skill'. They are different and it is not for being extremely religious or as nerds, but they become known for the favour God has on them. They stand out for the understanding and knowledge they have that is not at the same level as the others. In fact, this is the summary of the end os their training when they are met and assessed by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar;

 At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom.

Daniel 1:18-20

What a commendation!

They are assessed by the Babylonian king and his eunuchs and no-one matches up to these four, faithful Jewish boys. As a result they 'stood before the king', instead of being the captive interns, they became the kings servants! What a promotion, and they certainly deserved it, they were 10 times better than anyone else, above all the other advisers and those of insight - these lads were better than them all! 

Yet, who do they acknowledge for their abilities? 'God gave them....' these young men do not attribute their success or promotion to their own capabilites, hard work or loyalty, they attribute it all to God. They recognise that they would not be the best, have the skills they do or the understanding they are gifted with without God. God is what makes them stand out, and they know it. They acknowledge that their progress is because of God's favour upon them. 

Isn't that something?!

How many times have you or I commended ourselves, privately or in front of others, because we have achieved something? How often do you or i acknowledge that it is not in our own strength that we have what we do, that we are capable of what we are? 

Is it any wonder that God chose to favour these young men? They had faithfully followed Him when others hadn't, they had been obedient to God, and submissive to the authority in charge. For 3 long years they had been immersed in intense inculturation into the Babylonian culture and expectations, for 3 years they restricted their diet and committed themselves to continue to honour and serve God above all else. Can you imagine the ridicule they must have endured from their captors as well as their fellow captives? The hardship, the restrictions, the challenges would have been enough to make anyone feel fed up and potentially give up their faith, yet these Jewish boys kept going together. 

I hope that inspires you. Especially if you're having a hard time right now, or you have had a hard time to keep hold of faith over the past; weeks, months or years. During the tough times, have you got a tough faith? Do you remain faithful and loyal to God, or do you get lax or even give up? If so, get yourself some faith-filled friends, and trust them to uphold you in life and in prayer like these lads did. They had a ton of challenges and hardships as exiles. 

How do you respond when life gets difficult? Where do you turn? What can you learn from Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah?

Are you Living?

Some people believe that to be living means; breathing, heart pumping, brain working or even being able to love and be loved, to have an income, or pursue a particular lifestyle and have fun. But is that all that living is about?

How about looking at this from the perspective of someone who believes in God and has chosen to be a disciple of Jesus - what does living mean then?

“He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”

Matthew 10:39

Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

Romans 6:8

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:12-13

What do all of these verses from the Bible tell us ?............That in order to live, we must die.

What does that look like?

This does not mean to physically die, although we will all do that one day, (and so you need to be prepared for that). It does lead us to think about baptism - the physical demonstration of your life dying as you believe and put your life in the hands of Jesus. That is part of it. But, this sense of living by dying is surely more than that one act. It is a lifestyle. If you have been baptised, that is a great commitment to God, but this dying to self is worked out over a lifetime, it is not just a one-off event. That's where it starts. When you are baptised you put to death yourself and choose to live for Christ as a result, it is not like the next version of yourself, the new improved version of you - No! You have died and chosen for Christ to live in you through the Holy Spirit. This involves a whole lifetime of putting Jesus in the driving seat of your life. It means dying to the things you want and expect and what others expect of you.

Being alive in faith is about living sacrificially not selfishly. 

That looks like how you handle the big and the small things in life; 

How you speak to people, how you respond at work, the job you have, how you raise your family, spend your money, look after your body and  the possessions you have. 

To lose your life most likely means making radical decisions that the rest of society look at and think you’re bonkers! It means considering God above everything else and putting what He wants for you above what you want for yourself. I don’t speak as someone without experience here. 

There was a time in my life when I gave up the best job I ever had. Not because I wanted to, because I really didn’t, but because God asked me to. I was really upset, disappointed and reluctant to do it. I loved that job, I was successful, had a good rapport with all my colleagues, was making a real difference to the lives of young people, and God invited me to give it up to focus on family. Some people may jump at that chance, but for me it was a really difficult thing. Family at the time was so hard. I went to work for relief and to feel like I had a positive impact somewhere at least because home was, I don’t even know how to describe it, but it was emotionally, physically and mentally draining. It was were I put in my best effort but I felt like I was being dragged through the mill really. 

So, being handed this choice between work and family, between where I felt successful and a failure, it was a heart-wrenching decision. It was not easy. Dying to yourself never is is it? Being sacrificial isn’t - it’s dying a bit inside. Yet, what do you do?

You have probably guessed it already, but I did give up the job. It was not easy. It did not transform our family immediately, but it was life-changing. I didn’t particularly like it, but I did do as God asked. 

Do I regret it? No. 

I have never regretted being obedient to God, but I have regretted the times when I haven’t been. 

There are times when I have felt God prompt me to do something, maybe talk to or pray for someone and I have bottled it because I was embarrassed and fearful - those are the times I regret. Each time I have walked away feeling sad that I have missed out and that person has also missed out on potentially meeting a God who loves them. I have never once regretted talking-to or offering to pray for someone when God has prompted me to, even if they didn’t seem to respond at the time. 

God does not want us to live in fear, but it was for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5). God wants us to REALLY live. He doesn’t want us to feel like we have missed out (like I do when I don’t do what I know I should), he wants us to live free from that worry and shame. He wants us to have LIFE!

In every one of the gospels, Jesus is quoted as saying that he who wants to save his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for Jesus' sake will find it.

Do you want  to find your life? 

It means that you must start living life sacrificially not selfishly by putting Jesus on the throne of your life, not yourself or anyone else. The promise is, if you are willing to give up your life and put it in God's hands, you  will find life in all it’s fullness. It will not be easy - it is a sacrifice after all! But our life will be greater, it will be freer and you will really learn to live. 

So, do you really want to live? 

If so, how does that look for you right now? 

Maybe God is inviting you to trust Him is some way. It could be that you take the first steps in acknowledging that there is a God after all that really cares about it. It could be that God is challenging in a different way; to look at your finances, job, family, leisure time, possessions or relationship. Whatever it is, are you going to take God up on His challenge? 

Are you ready to live?

Simple, everyday decisions

Today, we are staring to explore the book of Daniel. This book follows Daniel from a young man at the beginning of the book (that is named after him), and sees him grow up in exile. He starts off when we meet him as a captive of the conquering nation, Babylon. The Babylonians had fought against Jerusalem and won, so they ransacked the city and captured the people. Daniel and his friends were amongst those wrenched from their homeland. 

The book of Daniel introduces the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, and explains that he decided that he wanted some of those captured to be educated in their ways. So they set about choosing the right kind of people. They didn’t just choose to educate a random selection of people, but carefully selected the best of the best as they wanted to produce good, capable leaders. So they had set criteria; young men, attractive, noble/royal heritage, intelligent, capable. The Babylonians carefully selected those that would already have been looked up to by the captured Israelites, those of royal/noble birth who would have some understanding of what having leadership and influence was like. Yet young enough to mould and develop (likely young teens) into the kind of leaders they desired in their kingdom. These select few were then educated for 3 years in the ways of the Babylonian empire. This ensured that they would have capable leaders amongst the conquered nations that can instruct, guide and rule. It was a smart, long-term strategy to control and envelop the conquered nations into the growing Babylonian empire in order to develop one mighty culture and nation. 

Daniel and his friends;  Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were amongst the new recruits, the carefully selected teenage boys of 'good stock' that are inducted into the Babylonian leadership program. They weren't the only ones, but they are the young men that this book of Daniel focusses on. Once chosen it seems that these lads were treated pretty well - they were given somewhere to live, educated and even had the same food as the king! Doesn't sound too bad for an exile does it?!

The thing is though, that right from this early stage of this new life that Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah encounter, they start to stand up for what they believe and they stand out from the other potential leaders. There would have been other youths from Israel in involved in this setting, but it is only them that make a bit of a radical decision. As Jewish boys, they clearly knew the expectations of the faith they had, and they wanted to follow it. When offered the king's food, they decline and instead request to eat just vegetables and drink only water. These are teenage boys remember…teenage boys choosing a vegetable only diet! That's a bot odd, don't you think? Yet they knew the Law, they knew that God had said to not eat certain things, so they were obedient and faithful. Whilst others maybe didn't even think of it, or were perhaps too scared to speak out to their captors on this issue, Daniel and his friends made a decision to keep themselves pure and made it simple for those who were in charge of them, they asked for just vegetables. They didn’t do it for fun or as an experiment, they probably felt like they were missing out at times when others were enjoying a tasty bit of meat, but they had a firm grasp of the Jewish faith and it's requirements. They chose to honour God in the simple matter of what they ate. The others just went along with what was going on, who did not think about denying themselves the king’s food - I mean, who would when you’re offered the very same things as the king?! The other young noble Israelite lads just went with what came.

Are you in danger of doing the same?

Just keep going, keep your head down and don’t make a scene. That’s what the other teenage boys did, and they are barely mentioned. However, as we go through the book of Daniel, we will see more of the adventures of faith Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah go through. It is by no means easy, but it all starts here with the simple, everyday decision of what to eat. 

What simple, everyday decisions are you facing today and can you honour God in them?