We love the stories from Daniel! Of good friends who stay strong in their faith while being held in a strange land. Being made strong through eating foods as they had covenanted. Interpreting strange dreams. Surviving a fiery furnace and a den of man-eating lions.
Where do you find the divine in your strange land of captivity? Do not doubt His ability to be present in any place and at any time. He can not only help you survive, but give you the capacity to thrive.
I’ve been thinking recently that we don’t grow much in our prosperity, even if our bank account might. Growth happens when we are in our trials. This can be hard to accept. It might not look like love.
‘What kind of relentless grace would chase this rebel down? Crawl into this prisoner’s cage, take my hand and pull me out? You knew I couldn’t make the change so you became the change in me.’
Love Moved First - Casting Crowns
Some believe that worship can happen as a solo practice. And it can. And yet, when believers come together, much more can be achieved. True religion is reaching out to find another’s hand to lift you. True religion is reaching out your hand to lift another. A community of believers strives to leave no one left behind, across generations.
(Pres. Gordon B. Hinkley) ‘Behind you were great men and women who did wonderful and brave things. They made decisions that were not easy to make, and in many cases they paid a terrible price for those decisions, some of them even giving their lives rather than forsake the truth they had embraced.’
Bring Them In - Friends at Martins Cove / Mark Ogletree
How do you hear God speaking to you? Through dreams? Songs? Does a truth jump out at you from within a good movie? or book? on a hike? or a football game? Truths are found all around - when we prepare ourselves, and are willing to hear.
Babylon really was a great city, multicultural, full of opportunity. Not unlike many of our cities today. Can we take advantage of the world’s opportunities, make our mark, without setting aside our covenants?
As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I follow a peculiar principle we call The Word of Wisdom. It could be argued that there’s nothing unhealthy with some of the drinks that are prohibited in this law. And that might be true. Just as there may be nothing wrong with the pork that other religions restrict. I’ve come to believe that the issue isn’t so much about the food itself, but about our willingness to keep within a prescribed guideline. This is where we find strength in keeping the Lord’s spirit with us. As did Daniel and his friends who, to keep within their covenant, stayed away from the ‘king’s meat and wine’ in favor of ‘grains and clean water’.
‘I’m finding myself at a loss for words, and the funny thing is, it’s okay. The last thing I need is to be heard, But to hear what You would say.’
Word of God Speak - Mercy Me
Above all and through all of his monumental trials, Daniel testifies of the Son of God. Centuries later, with the gift of hindsight after God’s Son coming to earth, His death and resurrection, we testify of this same Christ today.
‘I was dead in the grave, I was covered in sin and shame... He holds my life, my future in His hands.’
Because He Lives (Amen) - City of Enoch
Expect trials. They are the fertilizer for your growth.
Yes, they may stink.