Last night I started Beth Moore's study on Daniel. I had no idea what to expect going into it, it was just what our church was offering this semester & I wanted to get involved!
We all have a time in our lives that we aren't proud of. I know I do...I look back & think about how sinful I was being & honestly, I didn't even care at the time. I am so glad that God brought me through that & has guided me back to the path that He wants me on. I am much happier & able to enjoy life to it's fullest when I am living for Him.
So....now that I seem to be in a "happy place" there is still this lil ole guy called Satan who is constantly trying to get us back to that "old place" of sinful living that we have since left. {...we are always sinning, but some parts of life may be filled with more willingness sin than others} Satan wants us back in that time of "captivity" where we are sinful & living without Him.
When I think about that...it makes me want to stay where I am {& progress forward} even more than before because I do NOT want Satan to win! & he's not going to!
God tell us that with his help, there isn't an enemy that we will come across that we can't beat!! How awesome is that to think about?!
Even during the time of our "captivities", God has still been sovereign to us & we can't forget that! As far away from Him as we might have been...He was still watching out for us & taking care of us, we just didn't realize that. Looking back, I hate that I wasted so much time without Him in my life that I'll never be able to get back.
Sadly, the world that we live in can often be our "captivity" if we let it.
Isaiah 47: 8 & 10 stood out to me last night like never before! "'I am, and there is none besides me.'" Wow. How many times have I sang the words to a song pertaining to this verse, and it's never really hit me before what it really means...until last night...but His timing is always perfect! ;) We get so caught up in this world & this "captivity" that we live in, & we let it take away from Him. We must lose our lives of this world, and grasp onto the lives that we have of HIM--& that should truly be all that matters!
Our world is so caught up in self-absorption, as were the Babylonians in Genesis 11:1-4 who wanted to build a magnificent city, so that they could make a name for themselves and not be scattered around the world (paraphrase). But that is NOT what God had planned for them! It was there that the Lord scattered them all over the world & confused their languages so that they didn't have a choice of separating. They just thought they were going to get away with living in one area & only taking care of themselves, but that's not what we are here for!
In Daniel 1:3-4 the King called in some Israelites from the royal family & nobility. He wanted young men who didn't have any physical problems or disabilities, handsome & willingness to learn. Those were the things that were important to Babylonians...as it is to us to look young, wear great clothes, drive nice cars, have the perfect social status, and be most successful person in your neighborhood...
But can those things really make us completely happy?
When the four men were brought in from Judah, they were given the top of the line food--anything they wanted & how ever much they wanted--right off of the King's table. Who wouldn't want that?! They were given so many choices & in this crazy world we live in...we are given so many choices as well! There are so many different choices for us in the world & indulgences are what our world offers to us...but is it really beneficial? Does more "stuff" & more choices really make us that much happier? Just because it's a choice & you think you can afford it--does it really mean you need it?
Just as Daniel turned down the richest foods he was being offered by the King--we should turn those things down every once & a while here on earth too. Just because it's there doesn't mean we need it & need it all!
Our satisfaction does not (& should not) come from worldly things! Satan is opening his arms out wide to us showing us all he has to offer & saying "Isn't all this wonderful?" "Get anything & everything you want...& the more you have the happier you will be!"
I am guilty myself of taking his bait & thing "Oh, if I just had those cute new booties I would be so much better & feel so much better about myself because I'll look 'cute'." THAT IS THE WORLD SPEAKING!! It is so easy for us to get it all wrong...& I am constantly reminding myself to not live of this world & that is is our temporary home.
We shouldn't let ourselves be influenced by this world, but we should be the ones out there influencing it!
That's a lot to think about...& may not always seem like the easiest thing to do! But the world is constantly telling us that is is ALL ABOUT US...& it's NOT! We can't get caught up in the self absorption that this world has to offer.
To Daniel...eating the King's food, in his eyes, was as if he was giving himself to that Babylonian world. He wasn't willing to do that, so he asked for something else--more simple foods such as fruits & vegetables.
In the 21st century...we can still relate! We don't need to be eating off the table of this world, as easy as it may be & as appealing as it may look & sound and look! We all could...for sure, no big deal, but it's our responsibility & job to say that we WON'T!
One last thing...everything we do, say, buy, eat & watch shouldn't be about what is pleasurable to US! Just because it's there doesn't mean we should partake in it! We need to learn to say NO!
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