Be bold, be strong, for the Lord thy God is with you!

There’s nothing like having God on your side. While it isn’t always the case that God will show up and get in the ring for you, He often asks you to do just that for him – to see how serious you are!

Take Daniel. The man liked vegies. The king liked meat – lots of it… and unclean meat to boot. Daniel’s teacher said, “You get sick and I loose my life.” Daniel’s tenacity brought that trainer fame, without a doubt. Daniel and his three friends ended up being the wisest four students examined by the king after 3 years of being allowed their Jewish diet – on the sly none the less. You can bet the king said to their teacher, “What have you been feeding these boys!?!?”

That little audacious act blessed them greatly and taught Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah to trust their God, His laws and His customs as much more valuable than anything that stood against those principles.

When the King, in a moment of undiminished self-aggrandisement demanded that his entire nation bow to a statue modelled on himself… Daniel’s three friends refused. They truly stood out in the crowd. They were the only ones standing as the entire valley of submissive servants stooped low. They were called to the front of the class – “Worship 101” – they were reminded… Bow or Burn. The gold smelting fire that had formed the 30 meter statue, now stoked to melting point, awaited them. They said, “We won’t bow. And we won’t burn.” The King angrily commanded them to be cast into the fiery furnace. The soldiers who threw them in slumped to the ground – killed by the blast from the mouth of the fire. Three Hebrew slaves, bound with ropes, stumbled into the fire. Four men, untied, stood walking and talking within the flames. Even in the fire they did not bow. The King, who knew a God when he saw one, recognised the fourth man – The Son of God! The three men, called by name, walked out of the fire – unharmed. And the King worshiped. Their God.

What about Daniel? Where was he in this momentous moment? Was he discretely tying his shoes in the middle of the throng? Had he applied his learning from “Situational Ethics 101” to a rather uncomfortable situation? Not likely. He must have been away from the Kingdom on some sort of business. How can I say that? Because of the audacity with which he lived out his faith in every other moment of his life. He would not have abandoned his God’s command, “Thou shalt have no other God’s before me” for any reason. In fact, we see a time when Daniel stands alone later in his life. He is challenged to pray to the king. He not only refuses to pray to the king, but he boldly prays to His God through his window three times a day – just as he always had. It got him a mouthful from the king, and diner date with the lions. He slept on electric fur blankets that night. And he greeted the king in the morning.

Daniel and his three friends were brazen followers of God. They didn’t pull punches or sell soft sermons. They met adversity blow for blow. Men of God are like that. They stood up boldly and knelt down humbly for the one true God. Though they were sold out by men they were never bought out. Though they were shamed for their commitment to God they were never ashamed to claim Him as Lord. They were bold believers in a God who never failed them! And why not?