On last week, we reflected on God's faithfulness unto us and how He is a God that will never fail to deliver us from whatever it is that we face. Regardless of what we face, and how many times we are attacked, when we dare to place our FULL TRUST in Him, HE WILL BRING US OUT!

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As we reflected on Joseph's ability to trust God and remain faithful regardless of what he faced, something caught my attention that was indeed another a-ha moment. We have discussed Joseph on numerous occasions and discussed different facets of his life and the things that he had to endure, but it is of interest that many of us might not reflect on the fact that although Joseph's brothers already envied him and had hatred toward him, it was Joseph's dreams that was the last straw as far as his brothers were concerned that made them feel the need to 'finally' get rid of him.

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Joseph's brothers already disliked him because he reported to their father about their evil behaviors. For this reason, they saw him as what we would call a "tattletale". They hated that their father favored Joseph. They already treated Joseph with contempt. And now these dreams that Joseph shared with them, that implied that he would one day rule over them, sent them over the edge in hatred. What is interesting about this is that Joseph did not understand these dreams. He told his brothers about these dreams and was rejected. Upon having another dream, he goes back to his brothers sharing this dream with them as well, perhaps seeking an explanation but is once again rejected. He then goes and shares the dream with his father, Jacob and is rebuked by his very own father who we know favors him. Here it is Joseph, having these dreams that he does not understand and sharing them with people who don't care to understand them.

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We find that his brothers had gone to graze their father's flocks and Jacob sends Joseph to check on them and the flock and report back to him. As they see Joseph approaching probably still enraged by this second dream, they say, "There goes the dreamer!" and they plot to kill Joseph. And it was from here that Joseph finds himself going from pit, to Potiphar, to prison, and then on to rule over Egypt. IF we reflect on it, we can say that Joseph's dreams sent him to the pit.

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And what is fascinating about this facet is found in Genesis 41:9-16 which reads as follows:

            Then the chief cupbearer said to Pharaoh, 'Today I am reminded of my shortcomings. Pharaoh was once angry with                his servants, and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in the house of the captain of the guard. Each of us had a                  dream the same night, and each dream had a meaning of its own. Now a young Hebrew was there with us, a servant              of the captain of the guard. We told him our dreams, and he interpreted them for us, giving each man the                                interpretation of his dream. And things turned out exactly as he interpreted them to us: I was restored to my position,              and the other man was impaled.' So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was quickly brought from the dungeon. When                he had shaved and changed his clothes, he came before Pharaoh. Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I had a dream, and no                one can interpret it. But I have heard it said of you that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.' 'I cannot do it,'                  Joseph replied to Pharaoh, “but God will give Pharaoh the answer he desires (NIV).

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And if we read further, we see that Joseph indeed interprets Pharaoh's dreams and Pharaoh is pleased and as the narrative continues at some point, we then read the following:

            Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'Since God has made all this known to you, there is no one so discerning and wise as              you. You shall be in charge of my palace, and all my people are to submit to your orders. Only with respect to the                    throne will I be greater than you.' So Pharaoh said to Joseph, 'I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of                          Egypt (Genesis 41:29-41, NIV).

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And in case you have still missed the phenomena and the orchestration of what God did, let me make it clear by posing this question to you. How is it that Joseph could not interpret his own dreams and save himself from the pit, but he was able to interpret the cupbearer's, the baker's, and Pharaoh's dreams which placed him in the palace?!

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Joseph's story is living proof that during many times in our lives, the same thing that places us in the pit, the fiery furnace, and our lions' dens, is the same thing that brings us out of them.

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Let's Explore:

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Q&A: Fire with Fire

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On last week we stated that when God is the one who sends us into the fire, we must not try to fight "fire with fire", but we must allow God to be the one to put the fire out. We must trust God to bring us out of it and not try to bring ourselves out based on who we naturally are and what we think we know. WE MUST TRUST GOD IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES!

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Those mighty Hebrew Boys Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, have been at the center of many of our discussions. They are an example of UNWAVERING FAITH and TRUST IN GOD! After Nebuchadnezzar had built an image of gold for all to worship and the Hebrews Boys did not act in accordance, word was given to Nebuchadnezzar saying, "But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, Your Majesty. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:12, NIV). Now if we reflect on Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's story, Nebuchadnezzar was angered by this. He brought these mighty men of valor before him to question them and see if it was indeed true that they would not bow and worship his golden image. Nebuchadnezzar tells them that he will give them another chance and if they do not comply, they will be thrown into a fiery furnace. The boys respond, "King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:16-18, NIV). And from here we find that their unwillingness to bow and worship any other god and their firm faith and trust in their God, sent them straight into the fiery furnace.

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And then as we read further, Nebuchadnezzar realizing that he only ordered three men to be sent into the fire recognizes a fourth. Daniel 3:25-26 reads as follows:

            [Nebuchadnezzar] said, 'Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth                    looks like a son of the gods.' 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!' (NIV).

 

And in the boys coming out of the fire and Nebuchadnezzar and his men realizing that there were no signs of harm, their clothes and hair had not been burnt, and that they did not smell like fire, Daniel 3:28 reads:

            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… (NIV).

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Do you see the phenomena within this? Q. What took the Hebrew Boys into the fire? A. They trusted their God and honored Him by refusing to bow or worship any other god, even if their lives depended on it.

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Q. What brought them out of the fire? A.I repeat: THEY TRUSTED THEIR GOD AND HONORED HIM BY REFUSING TO BOW OR WORSHIP ANY OTHER GOD, EVEN IF THEIR LIVES DEPENDED ON IT!

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We see that the same thing that took them into the fiery furnace was the same thing that brought them out of the fiery furnace. And just as God promoted Joseph, God promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego as well. Although it was Pharaoh that promoted Joseph and Nebuchadnezzar that promoted the Hebrew Boys, we can't think for a minute that God was not the one who really did it. The Hebrew Boys came out of the fiery furnace with a promotion. God's hands did not leave them. They would not defy their God or defile themselves. God honored their stand.

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Nebuchadnezzar ordered three men into the fire, but God ordered four! Man has no power or authority over God. We might not have the natural authority to face our enemies or change our circumstances, but what we do have is a supernatural and all-powerful God who does not have to ask for anyone's permission to do what He wants to do which is why we MUST LEARN TO TRUST THAT HE IS OUR STRENGTH AND OUR REFUGE! We don't have to fear what we face!

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Ascribe to the Most High God!

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In Psalm 29:2, David instructs, "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness" (NIV).

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Ascribe is defined as:

• to consider something to be caused, created, or owned by someone or something

• to give credit to

• to credit something as a source.

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As did Joseph, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, understood what it meant to give God the glory that He is due. They understood that when faced with uncertainty, challenges, and having to make life-altering decisions, there was a name whose name was above all names.​ They understood that in all that they accomplished, the credit for it rested in God and God alone. They understood that if anyone could bring them out, it was God and God alone.

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Giving glory and worshipping God is not just about singing a song and waving our hands. It is not just about a two-step shout that gets people's attention and sends the usher running after you. We can also worship God through how we speak of Him, how we reverence Him, and how we act out our belief in Him.

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We saw how Joseph reverenced God as God used him to interpret the cupbearer's, the baker's, and Pharaoh's dreams. We saw how the Hebrew Boys worshipped God through their refusing to worship any god besides their own. They spoke on what God could do and would do for them. Their trust was a form of worship.

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Trust God as Our Lion Tamer

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If you still aren't convinced that at many times, what takes us in is what brings us out, consider Daniel 6:3-5 which reads as follows:

            Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the                king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for                charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no                        corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, 'We will                    never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God' (NIV).

 

Daniel 6:10-12 then reads as follows:

            Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the                          windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his                  God, just as he had done before. Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for                    help. So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the              next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the              lions’ den?” The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which                cannot be repealed (NIV).

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What do we Know about Daniel ?:

• Daniel was Chosen

• God gave Daniel favor

• God gave Daniel knowledge and the understanding of vision and dreams

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Because of the favor and knowledge that God gave Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, they prospered in whatever they did. God gave all of them the knowledge and understanding of all types of literature and learning and to Daniel, He also gave the ability to understand dreams and visions. This caused Daniel to stand out not just amongst the other young men that were in service to the king, but it also caused Daniel to stand out amongst the administrators and governors which caused Daniel to be envied. Daniel reverenced God. Daniel would not defile himself by adapting to the ways or practices of the king or the people of Babylon. Daniel just like Joseph and the Hebrew Boys, had a firm faith and trust in God.

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Q&A: The Fury of Favor

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Q. So now I ask you, what took Daniel into the lions' den? A. Favor and his trust in God.

Q. What brought Daniel out of the lions' den? A. Favor and his trust in God!

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On the surface of things, just as with Joseph, envy played a huge role in Daniel being thrown into the lions' den. The administrators and governors were jealous of Daniel and did not want him to be ruler over the entire kingdom as King Darius had planned, which is why they plotted to stop him by bringing charges against him.

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However, the root of this really rested in the fact that Daniel was favored. It was because of the hands of God and the knowledge and success that God had given Daniel that made him stand out. God had given Daniel the type of favor that made him stand out regardless of who he stood amongst.

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In our own lives, we will often find that when God favors us, there will ALWAYS BE ENEMIES THAT HATE US! Consider King David. David never did anything to Saul. Saul envied David because of the success that God had given him. David stood out as a greater warrior than Saul and the women ('unintentional instigators') did not make it any better when they decided to make a song about how David killed more people than Saul. David was not guilty of any offense against Saul. His only cause was that God favored him.

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The Trouble of Our Trust

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The other thing that got Daniel sent to the lions' den was his trust in God. Whenever we make a decision to TRUST GOD, something will always come along to test our trust. Something will always come along to present us with trouble as a means of destroying our trust.

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As soon as Daniel found out about the decree, He took to what his habit was and what he knew to be effective. He prayed and cried out to God for help. Daniel did not hesitate to kneel down and pray to God although he was fully aware that praying to God during this timeframe had a punishment attached to it because of the decree. The decree and threat of punishment did not stop Daniel from trusting in the God that he served. Daniel prayed in spite of the decree that restricted anyone from praying to any other god or human except for the king during the duration of a thirty-day time span.

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So, if the root of what took Daniel into the lions' den was favor and his trust in God, what brought Daniel out of the lions' den?

 

Daniel 6:22 in part reads, "My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight" (NIV).

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Daniel 6:23 reads, "The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God" (NIV).

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God knew that Daniel was innocent. God knew that it was envy that caused the administrators and governors to try to bring claims against him. God knew that it was because of the favor that he placed upon Daniel and all the knowledge and insight that He had given him that caused him to excel. God gave Daniel the knowledge and understanding of dreams and visions which was of benefit to all the kings that he found himself in service to. It was not just because of who Daniel was, but it was because of who God was to Daniel that attracted enemies toward him. God would not allow any harm to come upon Daniel because God knew that Daniel was without fault. God gave Daniel favor and God was going to shield him. God protects those who are blameless and those who trust in Him as their vindicator.

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Daniel's ability to trust God did not waver. Daniel's response to King Darius in Daniel 6:22 shows that Daniel trusted that God would fight for the just. Daniel knew that God was a shield and stronghold for those who walked upright and placed their trust in Him. Daniel could have felt forsaken by God for being thrown into the lions' den but instead, he held on to the fact that God would vindicate him. Daniel had a "FULL BELIEF" in the God that he served.

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In the above verse Daniel 6:23, we read that the king gave orders to lift Daniel out of the lions' den. If we go back and explore Daniel 6:16, we read, "So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, 'May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" (NIV). It must also be noted that King Darius ordered Daniel to be thrown into the lions' den and this same King Darius ordered Daniel to be lifted out of the lions' den. However, in reading the full narrative, we know that King Darius' hands were tied. He did not agree with Daniel being put into the lions' den, but he could not go against the decree that he had signed. King Darius signed this decree and agreed to make it so that it could not be altered or repealed all while not being knowledgeable of what the true intentions of the administrators and governors were who convinced him that this decree was needed. King Darius favored Daniel. He was fond of Daniel. However, he still had to allow Daniel to be put in a place that he did not want Daniel to be put into.

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We may at times find that the people that may be fond of us, that might favor us or that might be close to us, are the ones that place us in the path of lions. At times the very people whom we have helped may partake in the very thing that seems like it is going to destroy us.

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We must realize that there are times when God will tie the hands of those closest to us so that He can show our haters the power of His Glory and Might. God remained in control as all of this was taking place. And we see that because Daniel trusted God, he did not act in anger or show resentment towards King Darius. He did not allow his heart to be trampled by what King Darius had to allow to be placed upon him because he understood that there was a King more powerful than King Darius that had his back. Romans 12:17-19 reminds us of the following, "Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (KJV).

When we keep our eyes on God, it makes our ability to forgive more possible because instead of focusing on the trespasser we focus on the "VINDICATOR", which allows us to leave it in His hands. No one can avenge like God does. 

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And just as with Joseph and with the Hebrew Boys, Daniel also prospered after having endured his trial. And what is so significant is that because Daniel ascribed to God, King Darius had no choice but to follow suit. Daniel 6:25-26 reads, "Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: 'May you prosper greatly! 'I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel" (NIV).

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King Darius sent out a message announcing a decree that his entire kingdom must fear and reverence God. King Darius did not just send this message to his kingdom but the scriptures state that he sent a message to all nations and people of every language of the earth. In this message, King Darius proclaimed the power and wonders of God. He spoke of God as the one who RESCUED, SAVED, and PERFORMED SIGNS AND WONDERS in both the heavens and in the earth! King Darius acknowledged God as the forever and living God whose kingdom could not be destroyed nor could His dominion come to an end. King Darius shared with the entire earth how God had rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.

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Trust What Takes Us There!

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If we were to be COMPLETELY HONEST, the truth is that at times we simply don't like the way that God does things. Although we shouldn't, we might have all had those moments in which we found ourselves puzzled trying to figure out what in God's mind could have possibly perceived that placing us in a pit, fire, or lions' den was "A GOOD THING". And it is perhaps that thought alone that answers our question. He did it that way Because We Must SIMPLY LEARN TO TRUST HIM!

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Trust God while under attack? It's not easy. When your family is stabbing you in the back and your doing the right thing brings about horrific consequences and when your haters' lies make you guilty of something that never should've been up for judgment, staying focused, trusting God, and letting God work it out is the last thing we might want to do. Instead of ascribing to God and His Glory as David encourages us In Psalm 29:2, it makes us want to look up and yell, "What Did I Do?" better yet, "What Are you Doing Up There!".

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At times we really want to ask God, "I mean, do you see this?!" because some of the things that we have to endure, feel so ridiculous to us that we think that maybe God is not paying attention. We think that maybe we did something wrong because if He is not stepping in to fix this "foolishness", then maybe He thinks we deserve it! Nope, this is not the case. Sometimes this thing that feels like "foolishness" is God in His INFINITE WISDOM orchestrating things in a way that is going to bring us the greatest reward and give Him the highest of glories from it.

 

God could have stopped the things that Joseph, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel had to face from occurring. God could have intervened at any time, but He stepped in when their situations were at the absolute worst because He knew that they would still give Him their BEST and He would reciprocate the same unto them!

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So, What Did You Learn?

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What you take out of this week's post is COMPLETELY UP TO YOU! At times it's not the main point, the highlighted text, or the topic that pops out at us. At times it may be that one sentence or that one point that is hidden under the messaging that pops out at us. At times what you read here might remind you of something that you read somewhere else and give you confirmation. And at times you may not know what to take from what you've read. And it’s all okay. However, know that even when everything seems HORRIBLE and where you are seems like THERE IS NO WAY OUT, challenge yourself to TRUST GOD ANYWAY and you might just find that your EXIT sign is right in front of you. You just don't recognize it because it has "ENTRANCE" written on it!​ Remember that at many times, What Takes You In, Brings you Out! Therefore, be STEADFAST, DON'T LET GO, TRUST GOD and GET READY TO WALK OUT of your PIT, FIRE, or LIONS' DEN with PROMOTION! And when you do, DON'T FORGET TO ASCRIBE THE NAME AND POWER OF GOD!