[Originally posted in a WhatsApp group (FG) as a daily reading update (reflection) from each chapter of the Bible]
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙:𝟠
"But
Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with
the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow
him not to defile himself."
Normal
people follow the crowd. Normal people are actually "fools." That's
why everyone wants to be somebody, better than normal people. Even smart and
good people under pressure give up. Good people when they see others prospering
through compromise, and when nothing bad happened to such, and everyone seems
to be doing, they too are often swept away.
Well,
a faithful man shines best in persecution, in darkness, just as your mobile screen
shines best in darkness. Daniel was mandated to eat the King's food, by the
order of the King. Daniel was a young boy, a captive, not even a citizen. He
shone in this situation, and God honored him. There's no excuse when you say, "Everybody
was doing it, so I thought it was ok." It should have been, "Everyone
was doing like that, so I decided to be different. It motivated me all the more
to be different"
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟚:𝟚𝟠
"But
there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King
Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of
your head as you lay in bed are these:"
Live
differently because of your conviction upon your daily walk with God, and when
people ask "Really?" you should be able to say, "Not really,
but there's a God in heaven, and He is my God."
Start
using "There's a God in heaven" in day-to-day life's conversation! 👍
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟛:𝟙𝟟-𝟙𝟠
"If
it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of
blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He
does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your
gods or worship the golden image that you have set up."
Everyone
will pray more if God answers each time he/she prays. Everyone will serve God
if God rewards him/her accordingly. Everyone will praise God if God blesses him/her
prosperously.
And
if you do that, you are not different from anybody. And if you stop when God
doesn't respond, or if you would continue only if God continues, be aware that
your god is yourself; you don't know the God of the Bible.
Satan
thought Job would stop worshipping God if God stopped blessing him. Job knew
the real God of the Bible. So, even in unthinkable suffering, Job worshipped
God. He said that he will still worship God even if God slays him! Wow! Habakkuk
decided to worship God even if there be no fruit on the vines and no herd in
the stall. Daniel's three friends chose to worship God even when they were
under torture. Even if God abandoned them to be burnt up, they will worship
only God. These people truly know God.
Now,
relate that to your prayer life. Relate that to your walk with God. Even if God
shatters your dream, will you choose to live for Him? And btw, life is full of
disappointments, shattered dreams, and failures. It will always be no matter
whether you're righteous or wicked. And God does not exist to fix your problem.
You exist to worship God. And he who lives for God, God makes sure to honor
him.
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟜:𝟙𝟡
"Then
Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was appalled for a while as his thoughts
alarmed him. The king responded and said, 'Belteshazzar, do not let the dream
or its interpretation alarm you.' Belteshazzar replied, ‘My lord, if only the
dream applied to those who hate you and its interpretation to your adversaries!’"
Daniel
served the king faithfully, desiring his well-being, his prosperity. This king
is a pagan king and Daniel was a man of God.
You
can serve your boss, your company, your government faithfully. You can desire
their prosperity even if they don't know God. You can still love them and work
for them. Look at Daniel.
But
Daniel never compromised his conscience, so he was thrown into the pit of
lions. Daniel was always godly. He would do nothing evil. But he lived with these
pagan people without complaints, without disappointment. He seemed to enjoy his
life. After all, everywhere is sinful and sinners all around. Even inside the
church. So, live life.
However,
in v27, we see the real color of Daniel. He always must have been preaching the
gospel of repentance. He even preached to the king. True love speaks the truth.
Daniel really loved the king enough to tell him the truth to repent.
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟝:𝟙𝟘-𝟙𝟙
"...O
king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. 𝕋𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕚𝕤 𝕒 𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕚𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕕𝕠𝕞 in whom is the spirit of the holy gods..."
The
book of Daniel is famous for the phrase "there is a God in heaven."
And deservingly, it is mentioned "there is a man in your kingdom"
concerning Daniel.
Live
a life that people may say about you like that— there's a man who can do this.
Be that man! Joseph Chamberlain said,
"On every committee of thirteen persons there are twelve who go to the
meetings, having given no thought to the subject and ready to receive
instructions. One goes with his mind made up to give those instructions. I make
it my business to be that one."
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟞:𝟝
"Then
these men said, ‘We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel
unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.’"
Would
we be blameless and faultless like Daniel! Even at the highest scrutiny, he was
pure.
Jesus
challenged His accusers if they could find any sin in Him; they couldn't!
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟟:𝟚𝟚
"Until
the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the
Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the
kingdom."
Believers
will be vindicated and be rewarded. After all, the universe is God's universe,
therefore, the people of God will rule the universe again.
The
godless, wicked, unbelievers, sinners are just like a vapor; they shall not
last. We will reign with Messiah!
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟠:𝟚𝟝
"And
through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he
will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at
ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without
human agency."
Even
the high and mighty of the earth are nothing in the sight of God. The most
powerful person ever in world history will be the Antichrist. And some of the
most powerful people ever will be those who oppose God.
No
surprise if powerful people are full of anti-Christian activities, values, or
teachings. And no surprise if we lose and they succeed in a moment. They shall
lose and we shall triumph in the end. For believers, victory is not primarily
the survival of the physical body, but the endurance of the faith on this side
of heaven.
The
real victory in every sense awaits, not in this life!
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟡:𝟛
"So
I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications,
with fasting, sackcloth and ashes."
The
discipline of a pious man. Piety is an art we must recover again.
Prayer.
Supplications. Fasting.
It
even had sackcloth and ashes!
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟘:𝟙𝟛
"But
the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days;
then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been
left there with the kings of Persia."
Do
not misapply this verse to think that fasting or prayer or spiritual discipline
should last for at least 21 days. Daniel never had that thought. Actually, he
intended to keep going until he understood v12. Probably he thought a day
fasting would be okay, or a week, but he would go on until he understood.
Do
we pray like that? Do we wait on God like that? Or do we give an ultimatum to
God? Why do we set fixed days or amounts of time for certain things, which btw
is not wrong? Actually, Paul recommended that to the Corinthians. But do you
think through why, and know why any fixed days or amount of time? Daniel didn't
have a fixed number of days, but until he understood.
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟙:𝟙
"In
the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a
protection for him."
An
angel protecting king Darius. God sustains life. The devil wants to steal,
destroy, and kill.
It's
God who sustained Hitler till his death. It's God who sustains Modi, Kim Jong
Un, everyone. When He said, it's done, like the dogs that come for the crumbs
under the table when the master had his lunch, the devil will pounce upon.
God,
indeed, sustains both the righteous and the wicked. Nobody lives on his own by
his own strength or wisdom. Actually, even this angel was unable to battle
against the demonic force, so Michael, the commander of God’s army had to help
him. And puny man thinks he can hold off, that he can handle by himself!
𝔻𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕝 𝟙𝟚:𝟚
"Many
of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting
life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt."
It's
like the book of Revelation. The resurrection of the dead – to life and to
shame. And Daniel was assured of the resurrection to everlasting life in the
last verse of the last chapter of the last book of the Major Prophets of the
Old Testament (v13)