times are tough...people everywhere are losing their jobs, their homes and their hope...if it has happened to you...you know how devastating loss can be...you know what it feels like to be at the mercy of a job interviewer, or enslaved to a credit lender...it can leave us feeling less than...
most of us seek identity in our jobs, dreams, talents, or peers...the people we love, the things we own, and the job we do often identify who we are...when we lose those things, we feel as though we have lost our identity...after that...what else is left?
one of my favorite bible stories as a little girl was that of daniel...when king nebuchadnezzar of babylon came to jerusalem and besieged it...the king ordered for some royal israelites to be taken into captivity...the order specified those who were attractive, smart, healthy, and who would make good servants to the king...daniel was among them...they were also told what to eat and drink...
i imagine most of the captives were distraught by all they had lost...they had been taken from their home, their land, and their people...but daniel and his friends responded differently than most...they chose not to look at what they had lost but rather what they still had left...
daniel had incredible faith...trusting God to work on his behalf...daniel asked that he not have to defile himself by eating the king's food...despite the official's hesitation, he granted daniel's request due to God's favor...
as children of God, we do not have to lose heart or settle to the world's ways either...no matter what kind of situation we are placed in, God can make the impossible possible...the Lord also gave knowledge and understanding to daniel along with his three friends...this caught the king's attention...no one else in the kingdom could compare to these four...so, they entered into the king's service without violating their faith and remained there until a new king took the throne...
unfortunately, everyone experiences times of loss...a job, a friendship, a dream...even so, our worth and identity are not found in these things...nor is it found in our failures or losses...your value and mine is in God and the amount of faith we have in Him...
when we find ourselves in our own babylons...let's not look at what we've lost but at what we have left...our faith! it may be shaken but it can't be taken...faith...just like daniel's...provides hope in a God who is large and in charge over every authority...that...to me...is no loss...that is great gain...
i realize my focus has been on my circumstances lately...a lot more than on the God i serve...today, i choose to put my trust in God...i know that He is aware of my situation and is working on my behalf...
nothing better than that!
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