25. Daniel

I love watching movies. I really love watching movies that inspire me, you probably know the types of movies that I am referring to: Gladiator, Braveheart, Lord of the Rings etc. Even when it comes to the Rocky films (well 1-4 anyway), I love seeing Rocky Balboa never giving up, never quitting.   

A cheeky bit of Rocky wisdom for you to ponder: "“Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!” 

Daniel was certainly a man who knew how hard life could be. He lived in Babylon; enemy territory and he knew where to draw the line. Sticking to his principles and remaining true made life very difficult for him at times but Daniel did it consistently, maybe even relentlessly. 

Daniel was a living, breathing testimony that God does indeed honour those who honour him. 

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Idea 1: Staying true to yourself Sometimes it is easier to blend into the background, to become a bit of a chameleon. You see if we don’t stand out nobody notices us, nobody challenges us and we get to live a peaceful life. 

When the nation of Israel was taken into Babylonian captivity, I am sure that the Israelite boys were telling each other to keep their heads down. The best way to get through this situation was to not rock any boats. It is a bit like that for us as Christians in the workplace. The temptation is for us to just keep our heads down, not to tell our colleagues that we went to church last Sunday, or that we are part of a really good men’s outreach group. So instead of standing out, offering to pray for our not-yet believing mates or telling them about Jesus, we try to blend in. Let’s be honest, we have all been there, haven’t we? 

•  How hard do you find it to say no to stuff that doesn’t honour Jesus? 

•  Have you chosen to be outed as a man of God in the workplace?

•  If not, why not stop here and pray as a band of brothers and then resolve to change this going forward?

Idea 2: Taking a deep breath and making the right choice When we decide that making the right choices will be our lifestyle, we also have to accept that we make enemies from time to time. There are many reasons why others might not like the choices that we are making; fear, jealousy, resentment, shame are just a few of the possible reasons.  

From the outset, Daniel decided to put the God of Israel first, no matter what the consequences and he did get into some pretty tight scrapes. One such moment was when he was thrown into the lions’ den, for refusing to stop praying to God. The thing is, as we said earlier, God always honours those who honour him. Daniel spent the night with some of the most ferocious animals in creation, with nowhere to hide and only God to protect him. In the morning he walked free, without so much as a scratch on his body. You might also find it helpful to read Daniel 3:8-30 

•  Have you ever been in a situation where it costs you to make the right choice? How did that go?

•  Similarly, have you been in a situation where you struggled to make the right choice and regretted it?

Idea 3: Win, lose or draw... Being a resolute man of God is not for the fainthearted. It pretty much requires everything that we’ve got and sometimes it doesn’t look that glamorous to any onlookers. But we are not in this for a cosy, comfortable life. 

I love the words that Daniel’s three mates say before they get lobbed into the furnace: " If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

•  Can you trust God enough to be a resolute man of God? If not, why not?

•  In what areas are you opting for a cosy, comfortable life?

Action

Doing the right thing, making the right choices is not the same as just avoiding making bad choices. The temptation is to just blend into the background, but this only means that we miss the opportunities that God gives us to stand up for the truth. 

It’s time to stand up, to be honest and to stop making excuses. We all have a calling on our lives, and we need to be living up to that calling. Pray together right now, that God will strengthen our backbone and give us all the grit and determination we need to live as a resolute man of God! 

Dare to be a Daniel!!!