Despair Part III

Daniel

When Daniel was about fourteen years old, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, captured the city of Jerusalem. Daniel was a member of the royal family and probably lived in the palace. No doubt, he had a life of privilege. This all changed and he found himself a slave on his way to Babylon to serve an un-godly king. Daniel had no idea what lay ahead of him.   

The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility— young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace—and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature. The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king’s court. Among them, from the descendants of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The chief official gave them other names: he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah. –Daniel 1:3-7

Daniel was taken from his home, his family, his royal status, had his name changed and was most likely made a eunuch (castrated). Then he was sent to school to learn the ways of the Babylonians. This would include eating food sacrificed to idols and learning to worship their pagan gods. Things could not get much worse for a young Jewish boy.

Daniel determined that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he asked permission from the chief official not to defile himself.  God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,  yet he said to Daniel, “My lord the king assigned your food and drink. I’m afraid of what would happen if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life with the king.”

So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,  “Please test your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and deal with your servants based on what you see.” He agreed with them about this and tested them for 10 days. At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.  So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. -Daniel 1:8-16

After all that was done to this young man he still revered his God and still sought to honor Him. I find it hard to believe he didn’t get angry believing God had abandoned him. He might easily have given up his faith and said God must not love him. He could have said every man for himself, but he didn’t, he trusted his Lord no matter what.

How many of us today, myself included, can honestly trust God, no matter what?       
I am ashamed to say when things get hard, I feel abandoned. I do cry out to God, but do I have faith? I tend to “expect” God to get me out of my hardship. In some distorted way, I feel God owes it to me to spare me from such problems and discomfort.

Isn’t it amazing that God does His most miraculous work in the rough seas? Often it is in the times of distress that we feel His presence and see His mighty hand at work most. Once the storm is past, we can look back and see how He blessed us in the midst of the storm.

Oh Lord I pray that I would beg for the storms so I can see you work in my life. 
Oh that I would gladly face the fiery trials that draw me nearer to thee.               
Oh Lord, grant me the ability to look to your greatness rather than the perceived greatness of my hardship. 
Help me to praise you in the midst of the storm.

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