★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity Through Character ★

On Monday we got Chinese food, and this is the message that was in my fortune cookie:

“Character is much easier kept than recovered.”

Ordinarily I read the fortunes and throw them away but this one got my attention.  Such a simple statement but so, so true.  One my absolute favorite quotes from John Maxwell that I heard at a Men’s Conference echoes this truth:

“I am always one step away from stupid.”

One bad decision can destroy your reputation as a person with character, your legacy and possibly your life.  It got me thinking about the list of men and women in the Bible who consistently pursued after God that I shared 7 months ago in the post called ★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds ★.  Since then I have been adding to the list which are in red.Now of course the number one name that should be on the list is Jesus which Hebrews 13:8 (ESV) proclaims:

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Without a doubt He is the example we should be following as no one has ever lived a more consistent life then the Savior of the World!  But I did not include Him on the list because I thought it would be interesting to look at ordinary men and women.  A buddy of mine asked why I was compiling this list and I told him that I was looking throughout scripture for people who I believe were great examples of what a life of Godly character looks like.  I am NOT putting them on a pedestal as some “Super-Christian,” because we all have has sinned and fallen short of God’s glorious standard as Romans 3:23 reminds us…But rather to use their life as an encouragement, that like them, we too could overcome the enemy if we consistently seek the Lord!

So, in the coming months we will unpack stories of different “OVERCOMERS” in scripture.  This will be the opposite of the Temptation Series that we did back in 2017, which was all about learning from notable characters like LOT, NOAH, DAVID, ESAU, KING SAUL, THE 10 ISRAELITE SPIES and CAIN of “WHAT NOT TO.”  I pray that you will be encouraged by the people who consistently chased after God, and faithfully worked at building His Kingdom.  People who undoubtedly understood Joshua 1:8 (NLT) well:

“STUDY this Book of Instruction CONTINUALLY.  MEDITATE on it day and night so you will be sure to OBEY everything written in it.  Only then will you PROSPER and SUCCEED in all you do.”

This will be our anchor verse as it gives the battle plan on how to overcome the enemy!  Without further ado, today’s case study of Overcoming Adversity is the Old Testament character Daniel.  The Book of Daniel has always been a favorite of mine.  So many Sunday School Stories have come from there…

• Daniel and his friends refusing to eat King Nebuchadnezzar’s Food (See Daniel Chapter 1 – Especially Daniel 1:9).
• Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about the shining statue of a man that foretold the downfall of the Babylon Empire; and the subsequent rise and fall of the Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires along with the future Divine Kingdom to come (See Daniel Chapter 2 – Especially Daniel 2:48-49).
• Daniel’s (3) friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedego being thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to worship the Gold Statue that King Nebuchadnezzar set up (See Daniel Chapter 3 – Especially Daniel 3:16-18).
• Daniel interpreting King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream about the tree that was an analogy to his reign. Just like the tree would be cut down, God was going to humble the King because of his pride.  He would be driven from human society for 7 years until Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that “the Most High rules over the kingdoms of the world,” at which time then his kingdom would be given back to him.  (See Daniel Chapter 4 – Especially Daniel 4:34-37).
• Daniel interpreting the “Writing on the Wall,” which signaled the ending of Babylonian reign of King Belshazzar through the conquest of Darius the Mede. (See Daniel Chapter 5 – Especially Daniel 5:29-31).
• Daniel being thrown into the Lions’ Den because he ignored the law that was passed that for the next (30) days everyone must pray only to King Darius. Instead Daniel prayed to God just as he had always done regardless of the consequences (Daniel Chapter 6).

There is so much we could unpack with anyone of these major stories, but I think that the one that I want to focus on is chapter 6 but before I do, let’s cover some fun facts about Daniel.

First, I am a firm believer that God will equip and promote you in His timing.  In Daniel 1:17 (NLT) it shows that God blessed Daniel, and his (3) friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (also known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedego) mightily with various gifts.

“God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.”

Secondly, favor is better than success.  Daniel 1:21 (NLT) shows the extent of God’s blessing:

“Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year (539 B.C.) of the reign of King Cyrus.”

Daniel remained in a high position of authority through the reigns of (4) pagan kings!  Now that is supernatural favor!!  Something to consider is the fact that Daniel was a foreigner living in exile in Babylon, he was in a position of power that spanned almost (70) years which is unheard of!  Think about when a new president is elected, EVERYONE is moved out and the winning side replaces them with “their own people.”  Daniel on the other hand, served for 7 decades under a (2) Babylonian Kings, a Mede and then a Persian King.

Lastly…most of the stories about Daniel in the book that bears his name, deal with events when he was under great stress and/or fearing for his life, but in reality, most of his life in Babylon was probably uneventful.  Iain M. Duguid made this point that really opened my mind to this, he said:

“Daniel lived a long life, spanning from the days of Nebuchadnezzar when he was carried off into exile from Judah to the time of Cyrus when the exile came to an end.  His adult life covered some 70 years. Much of that time was probably not very interesting at all. During many of those years, as far as we know, nothing special happened. There was just the difficult regular routine of Daniel’s faithfulness in a faraway land, trying to balance the demands of his two masters, the Babylonians and the Lord.”

I can honestly say, I never really thought of that before!  But like I mentioned in the last post, the routine of 2020 where I am under a mandatory work from home order and the exploding Covid cases has led to this year being one of the most consistent years of my life.  One day looks very much like the next which I think with the exceptions of these (6) well known stories, Daniel’s daily life was probably similar with a steady rhythm.  When I started the list, Daniel was the very first person I added because what we know of his life is the very definition of consistency.

Since that was a very lengthy introduction to the subject of this post, I am going to give you the Cliff Notes version of Daniel in the Lions’ Den (if you don’t you can click here to read it) and focus mainly on the events that preceded the seeming death sentence.  Like with King Nebuchadnezzar (in Daniel 1:18-20) and then King Belshazzar (in Daniel 5:29), Daniel was promoted by the third King to rule over the land, Darius the Mede.  Daniel 6:3 (NLT) recalls that:

“Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.”

And just like today, when people are promoted, those who are passed over inevitably become jealous and look for ways to discredit the victor which is exactly the case with Daniel.  In the next two verses it says:

“Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.””  Daniel 6:4-5 (NLT)

Not to make this political, but could you imagine someone in governmental office with so much character that the only way that they could be taken down is “in connection with the rules of his/her religion?”  That certainly would be refreshing, but I digress.  In the next 5 verses, Daniel’s enemies come up with a plan to entrap him.  They go to King Darius and play to his ego and propose a law that everyone in the Kingdom must only pray to the King and no other God or else they shall be thrown in the Lions’ Den.  We could go down a rabbit trail here and break down how Darius was susceptible to his administrators and high officials’ deception because of his pride but let’s put a pin in that one and just recognize that the King was played and that pride left unchecked in one’s life can have dangerous consequences both for ourselves and others.  My favorite part of the story is what Daniel did right after the law was enacted.  Daniel 6:10 (ESV) says:

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.  He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”

Isn’t that amazing?!  Daniel was completely unaffected by whatever anyone did or what laws had changed, he just went home, knelt down as usual and prayed to God, just as he had done every day before!  The rhythm of Daniel’s life was one of praying three times a day and of gratitude despite living the majority of his life in captivity!  When you trust God completely, no king/governmental official, or changes in the law should affect how we conduct our life!  You can read Daniel 6:11-24 but in essence the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and immediately reported to the king that he broke the law and MUST BE PUNISHED because no law of the Medes and the Persians that the king signs can be changed.  Daniel was not the only one entrapped by this law, the King was too.  So even though he was distraught, the King gave the order and Daniel was thrown in the Lions’ Den.  I do want to note that the consistency of Daniel’s faith was so well known that this pagan king in Daniel 6:16b (NLT) held out hope that perhaps Daniel’s God would indeed rescue his faithful servant!

“The king said to him, “May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.””

What a testimony!  As the story goes, the next morning Darius ran to the Lions’ Den to see if Daniel was saved and indeed, he was!  Then the King turned his attention on those who tricked him and had all of them along with their families thrown into the Lions’ Den.  Daniel 6:24b says:

“The lions leaped on them and tore them apart before they even hit the floor of the den.” 

In Daniel 6:25-27 King Darius sends a message that “everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel.  For He is the living God, and he will endure forever.  His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.”  And then the chapter simply ends with:

“So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.”  Daniel 6:28 (NLT)

Daniel overcame adversity through the strength of his character and his faithfulness to God’s Word was so strong that his life impacted the whole world!  Consistency is key!  I will close 1 Corinthians 15:58 (NLT) which says:

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.  Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

Check out the next post in the series…

★ Thought for the Day – Overcoming Adversity through Faith – Part 2 ★

 

★ ★ ★ DIG DEEPER ★ ★ ★

★ Thought for the Day – Honest Self-Evaluation ★

Check out this great sermon called “The Deception of Pride” by Robert Morris in which he teaches about the deception of King Darius and the dangers of pride in our lives.  Very applicable message!!

★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds ★

★ Thought for the Day – Consistency Compounds Check-In ★

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