Saturday, January 10, 2009

We need Danial's steadfastness

Daniel 6th chapter tells the story of how he was thrown into a den of lions because he refused to bow down to the statue of the king of Babylon. It was a plot by those who were envious of the favor Danial received from the king. The plot did not not work the way they planned: The lions just waited as though Danial too was one of them! Or one stronger than them that, they dare not touch him! It was the Lord's work. He miraculously shut the mouth of the lions!

Danial was eighty years old when he dared to defy the command of the king even at the risk of his life. What a great faithfulness toward the Lord God of his fathers and his childhood.

Danial was just a teenager, may be thirteen or fourteen when he was taken a captive from Israel to Babylon. None of the elders were with him. He did not go to that new civilized country to study like some youth of today. He was not a refugee or an immigrant seeking better life. He was forcibly taken by an enemy country. He had no say in it.

Danial was taught by his parents to fear God and worship Him alone. He could have become bitter and angry with the God whom he worshiped for letting this happen to him. Or he could have doubted that God and his existence when he saw the glamor and prosperity of the Babylonians who were idol worshipers.
Danial was strong in the Lord . His faith in God was firmly grounded.even as a child, so that left alone in a hostile land, he did not want to compromise!

I became anxious about our younger generation. My children and grand children facing the world of today with so many new philosophies find it not easy to not to be shaken in their faith. It's like the storm raging against the house as in the parable Jesus said in Mathew. Only the house built on the rock was able to stand. The rock is Christ and his teachings. Only those who have an intimate relationship with God and a personal revelation of who Christ is will make them with stand the onslaught of the enemy.
'Lord, make them strong in faith like Danial', I prayed.

The Lord gave me an assurance from Isaiah 49:24-25. "Can plunder be taken from warriors or captives rescued from the fierce? But this is what the Lord says,'Yes the captives will be taken from the warriors and plunder retrieved from the fierce. I will contend with those who contend with you and your children I will save."

It is our responsibility to pray for our children. While keeping our foundation firm. let us fight for our children that they stay firm and not shake and stumble. Even if they have become a prey to the enemy,and back slid, the Lord is able to deliver them. Let us believe and pray

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