God Aligned

Luke 16:⁸ “…And it is true that the children of this world are more shrewd in dealing with the world around them than are the children of the light.”

The painful reality of Daniel’s time and ours is that a lot of Christians are not willing to pay the price required for their great destiny. I have had people tell me, particularly in seasons of the God Will Do It Again service where we fast for a period, that they have not been fasting and God has been doing miracles for them so why bother? You must have heard stories of some influential people and the price they are willing to consistently pay in rituals in the negative supernatural to sustain it. Most Christians just want shortcuts, “God said it, I believe it, that settles it!” The world does not work like that. You need to understand that for where God is taking you, you need to fast.

Heaven yields, heaven always delivers, to the highest bidder. If the unbeliever would pay a more superior price than the Christian, the unbeliever will continue to dominate. It is sad, in fact, it may not even align with some people’s theology, but it is the reality. Yes, Jesus died for us; Jesus died for you so that you can have access, so that you can come boldly to the throne of grace. But you will have to come! Jesus died so that our prayers can have meaning, but we have to pray. Jesus died so that we can have a relationship with the Father, but you have to develop the relationship. That is how it works. That is why, even though Jezebel was paying her price on her altars, Elijah could show up and say there will be no rain except at my word and heaven backed him up. Don’t you want that kind of power to stand for God? Heaven yields to the highest bidder.

Do you think Daniel and his friends would have taken a different position or even backed down if the chief of staff was not impressed with the diet experiment? The Bible shows us that this position was consistent throughout the Book of Daniel for Daniel and his friends. In chapter three, we see Daniel’s three friends stand up for God and even when they were about to be thrown into the fiery furnace they remained steadfast. They said, “God will save us but in case He does not, we want you to know that we will not bow to your golden statue!” [paraphrased].

There were at least forty thousand captives from Judah, also children of God, but only four young boys stood for God. It is not about the numbers. It is good to seek peace with all men, so follow the path of peace and reason first. Leverage the favour you have with men. But when they refuse to accept your position, you have to take a stand. Daniel and his friends stood; I pray that you will stand.

Prayer: Father, I set the Lord before my eyes, He alone will be my fear, God alone will be my dread. I will not be afraid of what men can do to me, in Jesus Name. Amen!