Gods light in your darkness! Daniel 2:20-23

This weeks text is a wonderful psalm of praise from the lips of Daniel.  When we think about psalms we usually think about looking to the book of psalms but perhaps there is no more beautiful words offered in Scripture then the ones that follow.

Daniel 2:20-23

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
    wisdom and power are his.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;
    he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.
²² He reveals deep and hidden things;
    he knows what lies in darkness,
    and light dwells with him.
²³ I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
    You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
    you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

Daniel was a powerful man of God who served the Lord faithfully from his youth.  While others might have given up their faith and the principles, Daniel remained strong.  His story starts when he was a young man in his late teens as he and his friends are exiled along with thousands of others when King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem.    Daniel was one of the "lucky ones" for he was chosen among others from the Jewish nobles to be groomed to serve in the kings palace.   Daniel 1:4 speaks of the qualities that Nebuchadnezzar was looking for.  He was seeking "...young men in whom there was no blemish, but good looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand."   Indeed, Daniel was that and even more.   John Maxwell in his leadership study Bible says that the secret of Daniel is found in his, Character, Competence, Convictions, Courage, Charisma, Commitment, and Compassion.   Those are some awesome qualities indeed!

Daniel offers this psalm of praise in response to the revelation that was given to him by God.  You see the king was disturbed by a troublesome dream and none of his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, or the Chaldeans could interpret his dream.  But God inabled David to understand the meaning of the dream.  Its interesting to note that Daniel praised God even before he talked with the king regarding this matter but Daniel was a young man of great faith and courage.  And faith praises even before the blessings are revealed.

His psalm offers to us a great truth, that God is in control of all things even in the face of the greatest evils and the greatest and most evil of kings.   Indeed there is nothing hidden or dark to the Lord and there is no power that God cannot overcome.   Daniel understood this and his life is an evidence of that fact.

No one would have been surprised if Daniel and his friends would have compromised and left their faith behind.  He was a young man.  there were no Synagogues and no one to keep them accountable.  Besides the leaders of this new land were treating him like royalty.  He could be a servant to the king.  But the only king Daniel was eager to serve was the Lord God.   Daniel held to his faith and became a blessing and a powerful influence for good throughout his life.  In the end God would prove himself faithful time and time again.

To Ponder:  What are the changes of your life that tempt you to throw up your hands?  Are there sources of darkness which you feel cannot be overcome?   Please read the book of Daniel.  Pray hard and trust the Lord.  God is faithful and eager to shine His light into your life.   God may even use your greatest challenges as the window to your greatest blessings to others.   Remember God is in control over everything.

Courage in the face of our struggles - Joshua 1:9

Our faith and our courage are proven and tested best under fire.

It's one thing to say that we believe. It’s one thing to know the Bible, the laws and the right thing to do and yet a very different thing to live by them. But live by our convictions we must!  

Some people wonder if God tests our faith by causing challenges and pain in our life. I tell them God doesn't have too.... life is filled with enough challenges all its own. Now it is true that sometimes I think God allows us to face certain trials and pains for one reason or another. Thankfully out of God's grace we don't experience all the pain this life has to offer. Thankfully by God's grace we do drive to work and back safely and the drunk driver doesn't always hit another car.

No, I don't think that God tests us but if we are to live in this world of troubles and sin we will face our share of pain. Unfortunately, most of us will never become self-made millionaires who can hibernate on a deserted tropical island far away from the idiots of this world.   

In Joshua's case, as with most of the great heroes of the Bible,  trials, worries, fears, and, yes, great pain would come to him precisely because he was confronting the evil world as a Godly leader. It is true that sometimes Joshua's greatest defeats came as the result of his failure and the failure of the people to obey God's word. However, his worries and struggles were no less challenging when he was doing everything right. That is just how life is most of the time but because we are human we don't like the world to work that way. We want to be blessed when we've been living right and when we mess up we understand why we get ourselves into trouble. With this thinking in mind, when we can't see a reason for our pain, we tend to blame God and shake our fist. God understands this of course and the Bible is filled with people who cried out a variation of our favorite complaint,"Why me, Lord!" I've said that a couple times over the past couple of years myself.

Yes, over and over God tells Joshua to be strong and courageous. Why?  Simply because life is hard especially for those with the courage to face the evil of this world head on. But know this, "If you are standing for what is right, God is standing behind you and with you. If you let God, he will also carry you."

I offer these words to all of my friends who are suffering. Especially for those who struggle with Trigeminal Neuralgia like I have suffered over the last two and a half years. God is with you in the pain. Pain is not our enemy. Of course, it is not our friend either! Pain is not the enemy but giving up and hiding out is. But God surely understands and is with us during those times as well for God draws near to those who are in pain.  

Personally, since I've received healing following a surgery in February, I have come to the point that I am thankful for those two years. I've learned much about myself. I didn't give up. I wish I could say I didn't complain and do my share of hiding out. My wife would correct me if I said that! No, I am not the ideal patient but through the pain I have learned much. I know that I'm a much better counselor and I have much more confidence in most areas of my life. I've learned that God is able to hold us even through the most difficult struggles. If you can make it through Trigeminal Neuralgia, you can make it through just about anything.

So to all my friends from the Trigeminal Neuralgia group I offer these words: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD, your God, will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 That truth was given to Joshua but it seems to me we can embrace that truth as well because it comes from the heart of an unchanging God who loves us.

To Ponder: If you lack courage, hand your cares to the Lord for God cares for you.   

These are the words of Jesus to you today: "Come to me, all of you who are tired and have heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Accept my teachings and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit, and you will find rest for your lives. The teaching that I ask you to accept is easy; the load I give you to carry is light."  Matthew 11:28-30

God bless you and give you strength and courage.

Be Strong and Courageous - Johua 1:9

Ok I have to tell you that this is probably one of my all time favorite Scriptures to preach about.   I know I may say that a couple times over the next two years but I really mean it when it comes to this passage. 

Joshua is also probably my favorite person in the Bible to preach about so I will try to resist the urge to blog every day. (hopefully I won't have as long a blog post as today's either!)    

So Why do I like Joshua?  Simply put he was a man of great courage.  He was a great leader.  He was faithful to God.  But also because he didn't run away from his fears.   

Fear and courage are by no means opposites.  The most courageous people are those who move forward and do the right thing despite their fears.

So why do I think that Joshua was afraid?  For me it starts with the fact of how many times God and Moses tell Joshua to be strong and courageous.  Moses had successfully led the children of Israel to the foot of the promise land.  Joshua had been Moses right hand man and he would succeed Moses to lead this mighty nation of wanderers.   Moses would help the people out of the place and the mentality of slavery.  Joshua would take this free wandering nation and make it into an army and into a nation where they could put down their roots.  Much is said about Moses exploits to free Israel from grip of the Pharaoh and to lead God's people through the wilderness but Joshua was equally as great a leader.    

Joshua and the people of Israel now had to learn to fight.  They had to farm the land.  No one had done that in 40 years.  They had to learn to be self sufficient.  At the same time they needed to continue to be totally dependent upon the Lord.  They had to be strong and courageous in the face of some of the greatest obstacles imaginable.  Joshua knew it.  Moses Knew it and God knew it so several times it is written in Scripture instructing Joshua to be strong and courageous.  In Deuteronomy 31:8  Moses tells Joshua "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."  In Deuteronomy 31:24 it says, "The Lord gave this command to Joshua son of Nun:  "Be strong and courageous, for you will bring the Israelites into the land I promised them on oath, and I myself will be with you."   Just read our passage for this week.  How many times does God tell Joshua to be strong and courageous and not  be terrified or afraid.  Why would God repeat this so many times and why would the author of Joshua write it so many times?  Simply because Joshua was probably afraid and so he should have been.

My guess is that you have some pretty big challenges in your life.  My guess is many of you have reason to be afraid.  Being afraid is not a sign that you lack faith it says your human.   God knows your human.  However, notice that everytime God instructed Joshua to be strong and courageous he didn't just stop there.  He didn't just say, "Come on Joshua take it like a man!" No God promised to be present each step of the way.  Joshua could be strong and courageous because he knew that God went before him and no matter the struggles and the pain, God would never leave him or forsake him.   And that my friends is the promise that each of us has today.  Trust God!  Life may be painful and I know it is for many of my friends but God is with you and God is faithful.

To Ponder:  God is with me.  God is faithful to his covenant with me.  I can stand tall.  I can have faith.  I can move forward.  I can be strong and courageous!   Remember there is no pain and no mistake that God cannot fix if we are walking with God.  But just like Joshua had to move into the place of promise, so too we have to be strong and courageous to keep walking and keep doing those things God has called us to do.