But
Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion
of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of
the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
(Daniel 1:8 KJV)
Now
when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his
windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees
three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did
aforetime. (Daniel 6:10 KJV)
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| Photo Credit: C. Meissner |
Over the last several months
I have been pondering the word “abide”—what it means to abide in Christ on the
vine and abide in the Word of God.
History provides us with many examples of individuals who abided with
the Lord, doing amazing exploits in the power of the Holy Spirit, and sometimes
they paid the ultimate price—their lives.
They knew the Word—hiding it in their hearts.
In preparing to post a
series on the Old Testament prophet, Daniel, (Dare to Be a Daniel [forthcoming]), it suddenly occurred to me: Daniel
abided in the Lord! He knew the
Scriptures. He was deeply committed to
living differently than others, even as a youth. Others made note of this, sometimes for good,
sometimes for bad. No matter what,
Daniel remained faithful to his God in a pagan nation, Babylon.
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| Photo Credit: C. Meissner |
God honored Daniel’s faithfulness—Daniel was “all in” when it came to
the Lord—and caused the Babylonians and Persians (his captors) to show him
favor. Daniel was so highly favored that
he was promoted to high levels of leadership in the government! A pagan government!
Daniel, as we will learn,
made a decision at a young age to remain loyal to the Lord, risking all
(he surrounded himself with peers who had similar goals). God honored His servant with supernatural protection
(Daniel from lions and Daniel’s friends from the fiery furnace) and
supernatural ability in dream interpretation (see Daniel 2).
While we may not find
ourselves uprooted and taken to a foreign land, we still need to immerse
ourselves in the Word—allowing it to abide in us—staying close to the Lord,
being ready to stand our ground come what may.
Like Daniel we will discover how beneficial it is to determine
beforehand what we will do when we find ourselves in a situation that may be
deadly.
If we remain faithful to the
Lord (not denying Him); He will remain faithful to us, not denying us before
the Father. He will use us for His
kingdom work wherever we find ourselves.
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| Personal photo |
Since “abide” is my word for
the year, it is an interesting exercise to consider how Daniel was faithful to
remaining in the Lord. The fruit
produced in his life was amazing!
How are you abiding in Christ
this summer? Which biblical character
comes to your mind who abided in the Lord?
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| Cluster of wild berries. Photo Credit P. Whitlach |
Please join with me in
prayer:
Awesome God, thank You for
the example of your faithful servants who abided in You—prior to the time of Christ—and
for all who came after following their example.
Place within us a desire for nothing more than seeking Your face and
abiding in You and Your Word. Empower us
to stay true to You even in the face of a hostile world—a world that prefers
darkness over light—may our witness, like Daniel’s make a lasting impact on our
society. In Jesus’ Name we pray. Amen.
From My Heart to Yours,
Kim
