Daily Devotional

When I’m going through rough times my first inclination is to ask the Lord to take me out of it or to change the circumstances or change the way others are behaving, in order to make the hardship/trial go away. It takes a while for me to ask the Lord what He wants me to learn from it. I don’t know how often I think that it was the Lord who initiated the situation from the beginning. I usually think it’s my sin or someone else’s sin that's the instigator.
 
But here, it is the Lord that created the plot to put the Israelites in the position to need to go to war. And it doesn’t necessarily seem like war should be a good thing. But the Lord wanted them to learn to know war! He wanted them to know what that was like. Not so that they learned how to “kill” people, but so that they were in a position that would test them to see if they would follow the commandments of the Lord.
 
This is such an amazing example to me.  What examples in the Word will I see if I look at a trial in my life with this in mind.? So many come to mind.
 
We have the advantage of looking at the accounts of the lives of many in the Word and the outcomes of their stories. But we don’t always get to hear their thoughts as they contemplate how they come to the decisions they need to make. Maybe because we just included it in the Easter Walkthrough but I immediately thought of Daniel 3 where his friends had to make a “warlike” decision that tested their faith and loyalty to God.

Our lives are not devoid of problems, whether emotional, mental or physical. How do we handle the turmoil?
 
Sometimes these problems are taken care of by provision or healing. Sometimes we must wait for relief…and sometimes there doesn’t seem to be answers at all.

In the book of Daniel, we meet Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—three men who refused to bow to King Nebuchadnezzar’s massive golden statue. The king threatened to throw anyone who disobeyed into a blazing furnace, but their loyalty to God didn’t waver. They declared, “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we will not serve your gods or worship the image you have set up.” (Daniel 3:17–18)
 
When they were thrown into the furnace, the king was stunned. He said, “I see four men walking in the fire… and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.” Daniel 3:25 This mysterious fourth figure is Jesus—the One who walks with His people in the fire.
 
These men believed that God was God no matter what happened. Their example revealed that even in our hardest moments, Jesus is with us in the flames.
And His promise still stands: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5
 
https://youtu.be/B6fA35Ved-Y?si=XgA4C5T-o57YtRqt  

Even If
They say sometimes you win some
Sometimes you lose some
And right now right now I'm losing bad
I've stood on this stage night after night
Reminding the broken it'll be alright
But right now oh right now I just can't
 
It's easy to sing
When there's nothing to bring me down
But what will I say
When I'm held to the flame like I am right now
 
I know You're able and I know You can
Save through the fire with Your mighty hand
But even if You don't
My hope is You alone
 
They say it only takes a little faith
To move a mountain
Well good thing
A little faith is all I have right now
 
But God when You choose
To leave mountains unmovable
Oh give me the strength to be able to sing
It is well with my soul
 
I know the sorrow and I know the hurt
Would all go away if You just say the word
But even if You don't
My hope is You alone
 
You've been faithful
You've been good all of my days
Jesus I will cling to You
Come what may
'Cause I know You're able
I know You care
 
I hope in You alone ooh
 
It is well with my soul
It is well it is well with my soul



Bart Millard, Ben Glover, Crystal Lewis, David Arthur Garcia, Tim Timmons
CCLI Song #7079513
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New King James Version (NKJV)
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.