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Lord, You Are Worthy of Adoration
Daniel 6: 19 – 28
Vs. 27 “....For he
is the living God, enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be
destroyed, and his dominion has no end. He delivers and
rescues, he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;”
Ah, the word
Adoration… one of the most beautiful words in English literature….
Adoration (Latin) means respect, reverence, strong admiration, or
devotion in a certain person, place or thing. It is one of the most
natural thing that we do as humans. We can witness this from the fans at
football games, cheering and chanting when the player's score and
especially when their favorite team wins a close game.
However, in the life of
a Christian, true adoration is reserved for God Almighty, the maker of
heaven and earth, who gives us life everlasting, provisioning us with His
abundant Grace and sustaining us in our daily life. When we adore God, a
true transformation takes place in us. We are no longer held captive to
the concerns of our daily life; our hearts are lifted up to the heavens.
We can stay at that transcendent level, lifting up our faces to see the
majesty of God Almighty. We can renew our spirit anew by the Grace of His
presence, His holiness and loving kindness.
The book of Daniel
teaches us the profound lesson that God works through the lives of
ordinary people to accomplish His desires. Earthly kingdoms may rise and
fall, but God and His Word will last forever. The book of Daniel teaches
us that if we will commit our lives to God, good will triumph over evil.
In Chapter 6 we see that Daniel is now serving under a new king named
Darius. Like many kings before him, King Darius soon came to recognize
Daniel’s talents and wisdom. So Darius chose Daniel to be one of only
three administrators who governed his kingdom.
The story continues
that Daniel's enemies then devised a devious plan to have the king issue
a royal decree that would result in the execution of anyone in the
kingdom who would pray to any god but to him. We all know where this
drama finally ends up – Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. It was
clear that King Darius did this cowardly act with regret but he had no
choice. In verse 16 we read that the king said to Daniel, “May your
God, whom you serve continually, rescue you”. The king knew Daniel’s
faith in God. When Daniel was facing this crisis, the pagan king said in
effect, Daniel, “your God will see you through this”.
Verse 18 says that “the king returned to his place and spent
the night without eating…And he couldn’t sleep”. Each one of us knows
that experience; that is, we can’t sleep when we are so worried.
There are two lessons
Daniel’s experience teaches us –
1. God’s tests are often designed to confront us with the
reality of our own limitations. Humanly speaking, Daniel’s situation was
hopeless, he was thrown into the lion’s den. But Daniel’s close
relationship with God gave him the courage to face this grievous
situation with courage. It appears that the lion’s den is as much a story
of King Darius as well, an unwilling participant who is unable to
compromise with his own decision.
2. God’s tests are
intended to lead us into deeper levels of dependence on Him. Throughout
the Scriptures, we learn that trials in life are to be responded to, not
by hiding from them, but by drawing nearer to God in faith. We can rest
assured that there are nothing in life that we can’t overcome if we have
the utmost faith in God.
PRAYER
Father, we adore You. Search our hearts, help us to see
the areas where our faith is lacking. Let our plans be Your plans so that
we can walk and live in the abundant life You have prepared for us. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
“Be great believers! Little faith will bring your
soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven down into your
soul”.Charles Spurgeon
Mathew George, Carmel
MTC, Boston
Christian Education Forum,
Diocese of NAE of the Mar Thoma Church
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