In Daniel chapter 1 we looked at three ways that the enemy will try to destroy our walk with God. He will try to remove us from God’s presence, he will try to remove God from us, and he will try to get us to fall into temptation. But the first chapter of Daniel doesn’t end there. Rather, it ends by showing how Daniel was blessed because of his faith and his stand for God.
“To [Daniel] God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. At the end of the time set by the king to bring them in, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel….; so [he] entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned [him], he found [Daniel] ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.” (Daniel 1:17-21, NIV)
Daniel made the decision to stand firm in his faith, and he was rewarded with earthly knowledge and understanding as well as spiritual understanding and discernment. As a matter of fact we are told that his earthly wisdom was ten times greater than that of all the “wise men” of the land. Because of this Daniel was given a very high position in the king’s service even beyond the reign of the Babylonians and into the reign of the Medo-Persians.
The word of God is very clear that there are rewards for those who put their faith in God. Hebrews 10:35-36 says, “So do not throw away your confidence (bold stance); it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.” It goes on to say in verse 39, “…we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”
You see, Daniel was determined not to shrink back from his faith in God, and because of that he was rewarded with both physical and spiritual blessings. It’s important to note in verse 39 that the phrase “shrink back” is directly related to destruction. The Greek translation of this is not a physical destruction, but a spiritual destruction. In other words, it is an eternity of separation from God.
I’m convinced that if Daniel had not made the decision to stand for God in his youth, he would have never been given another opportunity, and his soul would have perished. But thanks be to God, we live in an age of grace. If you have failed God in the past, or if you have previously shrunk back be encouraged because God is still holding out hope to you. You have a new opportunity TODAY to stand for God. No matter how difficult things get, no matter how the world may ridicule and persecute you, stand for God. When you do there is an assurance that you will be blessed with the rewards of God which surpass anything we could ever imagine. And remember the words of Hebrews 11:6 “….He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”
No comments:
Post a Comment