- The World
- The Flesh
- And the Devil. (Ephesians 2:1-3)
Have you ever wondered what we possess that the enemy wants to
steal, kill and destroy? (John 10:10) According to the first chapter
of Daniel it's:
- Our identity/ witness
- Our places of worship and their articles
- Our manhood, or womanhood - gender identity
- Our intellect
- Our purpose
- Our diet, the very sustenance of our existence. (Mark 4:4)
And we can see the body of believers still coming under attack
today.
How can we defend ourselves against this constant spiritual
onslaught? The answer is found in the first few chapters of the Book of Daniel.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints”
Daniel believed the Word of God and in the God of the Word!
2.) Enlist the help of other godly friends! In Daniel,
chapter 2, we see Daniel did not taking his ability to interpret dreams
lightly, but enlisted his friends' help in praying for him, Daniel
went home and made the matter known to Hananyah, Misha’el, and Azaryah, his
companions; so that they could ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this
secret; and thus save Daniel and his companions from
dying along with the other sages of Babel. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel
blessed the God of heaven…” Daniel
2:17–19
Daniel wouldn’t simply rely on his abilities, or “giftedness”; he
understood the importance of a strong spiritual community and the power of
prayer. Daniel knew the problem needed a level of
discernment that could only be reached by the counsel of other godly men.
(Eccl 4:12)
3.) Trust God! Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego prove to us
that God won’t always keep us protected from the “fiery furnaces” we will have
to walk through, but He will be there to walk through them with us!
With all this in mind, how are you doing? Do you “armor-up”
each morning as you prepare for your day ahead? Are you facing life’s trials
alone, perhaps, too worried what others might think if they knew your
struggles? Or do you trust in the community of believers that the Lord has
given you to help you win?
Because Daniel and his friends were
willing to trust their situation to God and one another, the Lord gave
each of them victories that couldn’t be explained apart from Him, and therefore
God received the glory in the midst of the most difficult circumstances.
Proving once more that He can be trusted! And we can be victorious over our enemy if we follow Him and His ways in our battles!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Together we'll read through the entire New Testament and grow to love our Lord & Savior even more! Trust in Him, and begin an adventure that will transform your life and maybe others as well!
Begins August 31st! on Women in the Word.