Thought for the Week - 23/5/2021

Dear Friends, 

You may be familiar with the children’s Sunday School song, ‘Dare to be a Daniel’ of which the chorus is ‘Dare to be a Daniel, dare to stand alone! Dare to have a purpose firm! Dare to make it known!’ The story of Daniel in the Bible is a story of the courage not to give in, but to remain faithful and true to God. In the sixth chapter of Daniel we read about the trap that was set for him by the administrators of King Darius who manipulated the king into signing a decree that anyone who worshipped any other god than he was to be put to death. But Daniel remained faithful and prayed three times a day to God gaining great courage and boldness, but also endangering his own life. The administrators told the king about Daniel’s actions and even though he was greatly distressed and made every effort to rescue him, the king eventually had no choice but to follow through with the decree he had ordered, and Daniel was thrown to the lions. But even in the face of an impossible situation, Daniel remained faithful to God, and God rescued him. The king was overjoyed at Daniel’s deliverance and indeed his devotion to God inspired Darius, a foreign king, so much that he wrote to all the peoples and nations of the land saying that they must fear and revere the God of Daniel, saying, “For he is the living God and he endures for ever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He rescued Daniel from the power of the lions” (Daniel 6:26-27). The Bible is full of stories of women and men who faced battles and learned the hard way that God was with them. I’m reminded of what the apostle Paul says, writing to the believers at Rome, ‘We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose’ (Romans 8:28). God uses all things to bring us closer to him, and courage means not running away from the battle or hiding from the struggles but remembering that Jesus is with us at our side as we face them. And so, every trial is a test, every experience an education, every difficulty is for our development. ‘Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him (James 1:12). 

Grace and peace,

Neil

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