'The Call of the Hour'

Daniel 10:4-21a (New International Version)

 ⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, ⁵ I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist. ⁶ His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude. ⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground. ¹⁰ A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said, "Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. ¹² Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come." ¹⁵ While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless.¹⁶ Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, "I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless. ¹⁷ How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe." ¹⁸ Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ¹⁹ "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," he said. "Peace! Be strong now; be strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength." ²⁰ So he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; ²¹ but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth.

As many of you know, our little church in CoMo (Columbia, Missouri for non-locals) has seen some of our very own brothers and sisters and others very close to us, go through some challeges recently. There has been sadness, tears, and most definitely some heavy-heartedness. Yet, even with all of this, the unfortunate truth is a spiritual war continues, at a fevered pitch, and it still demands that the family of believers fight faithfully through it. And our battles must be waged with prayer. Not that we should not mourn, the Bible clearly states in Romans 12:15 to 'Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.' But, with our mourning, there must be much prayer.

Daniel, in the scripture above, met an angel of God, one who was bringing him the answer to his prayers. But the angel was detained, by Satan and his evil forces, until the archangel Michael, came to free him, no doubt fueled by other subsequent prayers.

So many of us get discouraged in these times of challenge, and we quit lifting up our prayers. We stop praying vigilantly, and get more sporadic or stop all together. Yet, in the heavenly realms, the angels are battling valiently, and they rely on our prayers to give them the cover fire to complete their missions. With all that is going on, with all the challenges around, with all the people needing the power, comfort, and mercy of our God, will you rejoin the fray? If you are continuing the battle faithfully, you are an inspiration to us all. But if you, like myself, are reeling from a seemingly steady stream of bad news, there is one thing we can do to turn the tide...let's hit our knees, provide fuel for the angels, and petition our God for the needs of those in distress and for own hearts to stay faithful in the face of trouble. "Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed," ..."Peace! Be strong now; be strong." When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, "Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength." And to God be the Glory!

'God Will Not Give Us More Than We Can Handle'

I have a theory. Recently, several of my friends, and I as well, have gone through some intense challenges. One saying I have heard more than once, from a variety of different folks, is the old stand-by, "God will not give us more than we can handle." I have heard saying often, but only recently have I really looked at the verse the saying is based on.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (New International Version)

¹³No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

What really stood out to me surrounding this saying and verse is that I have often felt like God has given me more than I can handle. Not that God was being mean or spiteful in any way (even though my feelings might have said otherwise), but that He was forcing me to give up control and rely on him. My sinful nature is to try and take control of my life and to try to just 'gut-out' challenges and get through them on my own. As I have chronicled in the past, last year was rough for me physically. The medical issues I had left me fatigued all the time, no matter how much I slept. There were many days where I felt completely overwhelmed and unable to face the day ahead. I had to rely on God just to make it through the day. Those 'dreadful days' brought the scripture below to mind.

2 Corinthians 1: 8-10 (New International Version)

 ⁸We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. ⁹Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,

So, as my theory goes, I started to think about 'the saying' versus the scripture, because I know the scripture is the truth of the matter. The saying, as it is often quoted, is 'God won't give you more than you can bear'. The verse the saying is based on says, 'he will not TEMPT you beyond what you can bear.' A subtle wording difference, but a difference in the wording sometimes changes the meaning of what is being said. Most often when I hear the saying it is to comfort those who are under going a trial. I do understand that sometimes the trial IS the fact that we being tempted. In some way Satan is tempting us with something we are struggling with and it is difficult to persevere through and it tries our very spirit. But there are challenges that are not created as a consequence of our sinful nature. There are challenges, as referenced in 2 Corinthians 1:8-10, that come from God in an effort to push us to let go and rely on Him. The saying can, in a sense, become unintentionally wrong. I don't believe the saying has ever been intended to harm anyone, in fact, almost every time I have heard someone say it, they were making effort to encourage me or someone else. Frequently though, the thought behind it wasn't necessarily biblically sound. To make a long story short, my theory is that God DOES sometimes give us more than we can bear. Sometimes challenges come up that overwhelm us to the point that the only way to get through it is to perform a virtual trust fall by giving up control and completely placing ourselves in the Lord's hands. Challenges that happen so that we 'might rely not ourselves but on God.' Challenges that are meant to shake us up, get us to quit being independent, and force us to give up control to God. There are also times that God allows Satan to tempt us, but those challenges are not beyond our ability to endure, but are, in fact, opportunities for us overcome. During those times of temptation, God says that, 'he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.'
This could all just very well be semantics, but it does bring something to mind that I have seen plague Christians for a long time. I believe that sometimes our faith is tested by our own misunderstanding. Sometimes we struggle with doubt that wouldn't be there if we understood more about God from a biblical perspective. If we took the time to really examine all the 'sayings' that we sometimes default to, and took the time to really understand what it is we believe, we might see ways that we can shore up our own convictions and maybe even help shore up the convictions of our brothers and sisters. We might just uncover areas we really don't understand and need to get some bibical teaching on.
In the end, the lesson here is that we need to rely on God no matter the situation. And we also need to encourage one another by accurately representing his word and his heart to each other and the world we live in. 

'Fiery Furnaces'

Daniel 3:19-28 

 ¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
 ²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They replied, "Certainly, O king."
 ²⁵ He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
 ²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!"
      So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
 ²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God.

There are fiery furnaces we face in life. Challenges that seem to be so middle of the summer, black top heated, barefoot scolding hot that you break out in a body soaking sweat just thinking about them. These furnaces always seem like they will most certainly end in our demise...or at the very least threaten to burn us out or burn us down. Sometimes they seem so hot, we wonder how we will ever survive. My health has been one such furnace for me. In the past two and half years, I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism (causing significant weight gain) and sleep apnea. I have contracted mastoiditis that came from a severe ear infection and then evolved into a brief bout of facial paralysis, mononucleosis that was at its worst while my thyroid was malfunctioning and my sleep apnea was kicking in (resulting in fatigue that made me feel like I hadn't slept in days, even after a solid eight hours), and pluracy, which was an infection in the lining of my lungs that made me feel as if I was having a heart attack. Not to mention the persistent back pain, ingrown toe nails so bad I had to have them removed surgically, and all the other various sprains, strains, and autoimmune diseases. There have been many times that I wanted out of my furnace. There have also been many times that I wanted to just shrivel up and die in it. But the thing I have failed to realize until recently is that my furnace is making me, not roasting me. My faith of greater worth than gold is being refined by this fire. Knowing this spiritual truth doesn't always make it easier while I traverse through the proverbial hotbox of challenges, but it does comfort me, in a deep down in my soul sort of way. God cares enough to cook me thoroughly, he wants to say of me 'Well Done' not 'Rare'!

The key I suppose, as it was for our faithful brothers in the OT, is to trust in God no matter what we face. He leads me to green pastures, but he also leads me to the desert to be tempted. He takes me to the highest mountains of joy, and leads me through the valley of the shadow of death. He threw me into this furnace, so I might as well learn from it. And while I am getting crispy around the edges, I should worship him too, being grateful for the heat, that is refining my soul. Rather than serve the false gods of selfishness, or laziness, or worldly pleasures (often the things we retreat to in times of trouble)...it is our calling to serve and worship none other than the Lord our God, come fiery furnace or high water!!!! Trusting God, even when it's hotter than Hades, is what it is all about. Challenges are often the perfect way to help us grow, but because they are the perfect growth agent doesn't mean we approach them perfectly, after all who does? Did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego sweat? Did they fear the worst as the soldiers carrying them were burning up right in front of them? Surely they did. But still they went forward. They still held to their convictions, to their faith, and to their God. And who came to their rescue? Who walked with them even in the most hazardous of situations? Our rescuer, our protector, and our warrior, the Lord Jesus Christ. No matter the heat of our challenges or the bitter cold of our struggles, Jesus walks with the faithful and champions their cause!!!! Now enjoy the cooking of your soul and the baking of your faith, because, after all, nobody with a raw soul ever made it to pearly gates!