*WISDOM FOR TODAY.*
*DANIEL REMAINED IN THE KING'S COURT (4).*
*Scripture Treasure.*
Dan 2: 47 *The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret*
*Insight and Highlight.*
Daniel was in captivity, not by choice but by force. By choice, he excelled in captivity, refusing Babylonian force to bow to their gods.
*Scripture Commentaries.*
Paul tells us in Gal 5:24 *And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.*
We are to do this as a choice to honor God. Crucifying affection and lust does not mean we do not still retain the emotions to be affectionate. Lust, however, must be resisted and must not be part of us in order to please God.
While God made it a choice, Daniel and his friends were not given a choice to crucify their affection and lust. They were forced and deprived of their manliness.
Daniel's story teaches us a lot about life.
First, life can be unbearably wicked and can forcefully deprive us of choices that God freely gives to us.
Though Daniel and his friends were faithful to God, and whether or not they made them eunuchs will not change their love for God given what we read about them in the Bible.
We can, however, learn that every word of God, His expectation of us to do something must be duly honored and never be resisted by us.
If we resist to crucify our affections and lust, there are many ways life can humble us to submit to God’s will and wishes.
People boast of so many things in life.
They boast they can not do without food for a few days. They boast we can not go days or hours praying because what will we be praying about for this long. Some people boast they can not do without their affections and lusts. Some earn themselves names after eating habits, social association, sexual gratifications and escapades, etc.
We forget that there are times in life that will teach us that we can actually do without some, if not all, the things that we so much love to do and boast of.
For example, sickness has proved to be one of many ways by which people were prevented from doing what they most loved to do. Through sickness, people have gone through days without food, drinks, or unable to do things they wished they could do.
Though being eunuchs was not their choice and by all means not God's perfect will, Babylon made them do what they did not want for themselves.
Are you boasting that you could not do what God requires you to do in order to please Him? Do not wait for the Babylon of this world to harshly make you do them.
As earlier mentioned, the Babylon of this world could further be in the form of captivity, life's unexpected circumstances, etc.
These situations have made people forcefully crucify their affections and lust rather than peacefully choose to do so as earlier expected of them.
Second, we can also learn from Daniel and his friends in Babylon that there are times our desires are crucified where God places us, Gal 5:24. In other words, we can be subjected to the unexpected or the inconvenient in the place where we find ourselves, yet we are in God's perfect will.
The unusual and catastrophic do happen or occur while we are in God's will.
Above all, we must be discerning like Daniel for us to see God as he saw Him in the midst of all he went through in Babylon.
Too many things could have taken Daniel out of Babylon, but he remained at the king's gate. Too many things could have discouraged Daniel from trusting God any longer, but he was stronger in Babylon than he was in Judah, his homeland.
It took great patience to remain in Babylon, but Daniel did, and God rewarded him.
*Remorse corner.*
While some Jewish captives were subjected to wilderness experiences, Daniel received a white-collar reception, Dan 1:3-4.
*Call to Word action.*
A white-collar treatment awaits you where God places you, if you will wait enough for His promise.
Heb 10: 36 *For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.*
*The Christian clarion duty.*
Daniel received a white-collar treatment.
Dan 2:48 *Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.*
*Prayer.*
Lord, help me to remain faithful to You, in Jesus name.
Good morning all, and have a blessed day today.
God bless you.
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