Of all of the heroes of the faith, Daniel was probably the most righteous all around. None of our faith heroes were perfect. Abraham tried to fulfill God’s plan in his own time. Moses disobeyed. David fell into all sorts of sin. Even the apostles had quarrels amongst themselves. But when it comes to Daniel we have no record of him falling into any type of sin.
The prophet Ezekiel groups Daniel with Noah and Job in Ezekiel 14, but makes no mention of Abraham, Moses, David, or anyone else. Daniel was truly an exceptional man even from an early age. I believe that his success as a prophet began as a result of some critical decisions that he made as a teenager.
In this message I want to examine Daniel chapter 1 and examine three ways that the enemy will try to steal our heavenly security.
1. The enemy will try to steal you from God
The first thing that we see in Daniel 1 is the King of Babylon laying siege to Judah. As a result the king of Judah was taken captive to Babylon along with the most beautiful women and the brightest young men. Daniel was among those taken captive.
I’m sure Daniel had dreams and plans of how he would do great things for God in the land of Judah. He probably looked forward to living a long, prosperous life in the land of God. He had probably never considered the possibility of being stolen from the Promised Land at such an early age, never to return.
The enemy is very smart, but sometimes he can be quite stupid. He thought that if he could take Daniel from the Land of God, then Daniel would be outside of the favor, protection, and blessing of God. However, while it is true that God dwelt in Judah, we need to remember that God is Jehovah Shammah. He is our ever-present help. He will never forsake the righteous. Isaiah 43:13 says, “…No one can snatch anyone out of my hand. No one can undo what I have done.” (NLT) You see, no one can curse what God has blessed, and no one can take you away from God.
Jesus found himself outside of the “place” of God. After He was baptized, the bible tells us that He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for 40 days. Did you see that? The enemy didn’t take Him away from God, the SPIRIT led Him. You see, there will be times when we find ourselves wondering where God has gone. We don’t see, feel, or hear Him. But we often face those times because God has allowed it to happen so that we can be tested, and if we can pass those tests we will come out stronger and wiser.
I believe that while the enemy thought he was stealing Daniel from Judah, the Spirit was actually taking him into that foreign land so that he could fulfill his purpose.
What areas has the enemy tried to take you away from God? Maybe a better question would be this. How has the enemy lied to you to get you to believe that you are outside of the will, protection, and blessing of God? Maybe you have had dreams and plans of living a great life in God in a particular geographical location. You attended a great church. You had great, Godly friends and family that you could turn to. Everything felt good and comfy. But now you have found yourself away from all of that. Maybe you’ve had to move, or maybe circumstances have changed and things are not like they used to be. You feel like you are in a foreign land or even a wilderness. It seems you are no longer in that place where God is.
You need to remember that God will never leave nor forsake the righteous. No one or nothing can snatch you out of His hand. And you can never go beyond the reach, the love, and the blessing of God as long as you are seeking first His kingdom and righteousness (Matthew 6:33). Maybe God is wanting to tweak your dreams, or He may even be leading you into that hard place so He can fulfill His dreams for your life. Whatever you do, don’t quit on God because He has never quit on you.
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