This Daniel

Dan.6:³ (NKJV) “Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm.”

I made the football [soccer] team in my first year in secondary school. It was a military school so naturally our coach was a military man. In order to teach us team work, he made us do laps around the pitch together. The team was made up of about seventeen people and the rule was, we had to all finish together [at the same time]. Some people  just never made it in time and the coach would say, “You are a team, you win together – you lose together! Do it again!” That did not seem very fair. I remember being upset at the people lagging behind and at the coach for making those of us that made it on time go around again. Each time we went around, more and more people fell behind because we were all getting tired. But we got the message, “we win and lose as a team”.

A lot of adults really do not get this message. Even married people do not get it. One person just does not understand that if the other person does not make it, he or she does not make it either. Some Life Group leaders do not understand that if their people do not make it, they do not make it either. Sometimes, the outcome of other people’s lives directly impacts us, and it does not feel fair. Daniel and his friends found themselves in a situation where although they personally had done nothing wrong, they were forced to pay a severe price because of the sins of others. Life is filled with situations where we have to bear the brunt for something we know nothing about.

Over the next couple of weeks by God’s grace, we will be learning how to rise above in Jesus Name. I believe strongly that there is something God wants to get to us in this season, please stay focused and get it. A lot of the things we are going to be dealing with are not entirely new to us, but God wants us to keep these lessons fresh in our hearts and lives. Beyond that, He wants us to live these spiritual gains daily. It is not the hearer of the Word that gets blessed, it is the doer. I believe that God wants to strengthen us and make us rise above challenges in Jesus Mighty Name.

Daniel outlasted four kingdoms even though he was a slave. How did he do it? He should have been angry with God for having to bear the burden for something he knew nothing about. Kingdoms rose, and kingdoms fell but Daniel remained influential. Unfortunately, there are Christians that think the only way to survive is by compromise. Daniel, an Old Testament believer that did not have the Holy Spirit or the Bible, Heaven is challenging us be the light in a corrupt world.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, empower me to be a bright light, to be set apart and preferred, in Jesus Name. Amen!