training – Me From the Inside Out

based on the LGG Study, Living Faithful in a Faithless Land / w4d2

Scripture: God’s Road Map for Our Journey / Daniel 5:17-30 (23b)

For you have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny! – Daniel 5:22-23

Observations and Applications

Every day, we make choices. I’m not talking about what’s for dinner choices, though I guess that could be a critical decision for some, but I’m referring more to this would be right vs this would be wrong decision. Decisions like, should we do this, go there, say that, watch this, hang out with them … or not? We have a 2-year-old in the family now, the ripe age of testing boundaries, which means we are often teaching him right and wrong and encouraging him to obey. Recently, at preschool, he did something that he had been told not to do. When his teacher told him he shouldn’t have done it – he replied, “I know.” So she asked him why he did it, and he answered, “I just wanted to.” It was tempting to snicker at this, but its cuteness fades when we remember the reality of today’s story about Belshazzar’s costly decision to live like he wanted rather than how he knew he should.

In our previous day’s journey, the king of Babylon’s party was suddenly interrupted by the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace. Daniel is summoned to tell the king what it means and does so, neither sugar-coating nor cajoling the king. He boldly relates what the message said, what the king could expect, and why. Yet, before the meaning was given- Daniel, in what I would call righteous indignation, courageously scolded the king with what some have described as a “scathing indictment”. He gives him a history lesson of sorts, telling him nothing new, for as a descendant of Nebuchadnezzar, the king would have already known these things. Instead, Daniel said it all as a reminder that Belshazzar should have known better and chosen the way of Nebuchadnezzar. Instead, he had used the things of God for idolatrous purposes and would now, along with all of Babylon, pay for the drunken, blasphemous actions.

Babylon had conquered Jerusalem and taken Daniel and others captive, but God moved Belshazzar to honor one of those captives, and very soon He would use the Persians to conquer Babylon. God works in wondrous ways to accomplish His will.
Bibleref.com

Important and helpful commentary for understanding/appreciating this part of our journey through Daniel –

After reminding the king about the experience of Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:28–33; 5:18–21), Daniel now addresses the event which God’s supernatural sign interrupted (Daniel 5:1–5).

Belshazzar’s inebriated, blasphemous actions are described as direct rebellion against “the Lord of heaven.” Though he knew about Nebuchadnezzar’s encounter with the God of Israel, Belshazzar still chose to use Jewish holy objects (Daniel 5:1–2) as toys for drinking, and tools for idolatry. Failure to learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s example was one thing, but to actively desecrate the name of Israel’s God and use His objects (Exodus 30:22–29) to worship idols was even worse.

A deep contrast can be seen in the reaction of New Testament converts in Thessalonica. When they heard the gospel, they “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9). Belshazzar’s refusal to see what God made clear (Romans 1:18–20; John 5:39–40) displayed his arrogance. Only when that brutally direct rebuke has been made does Daniel explain why it inspired God to send a sign, and what that sign means (Daniel 5:24–28).

Scripture does not record how Belshazzar took this news. It simply notes that the king made good on his promise. Daniel is immediately dressed in finery and proclaimed the “third ruler.” Scholars believe this is because Belshazzar was acting as a regent—second-in-command—while his father, Nabonidus, the “first ruler” and true king, was away. It is remarkable that a pagan Gentile ruler would elevate Daniel, a Hebrew and captive exile (Daniel 1:3–7), to such a prominent position. However, God was working in the situation to make this happen. It’s possible the king was trying to appeal to Daniel for forgiveness. He may have thought he could appease the Lord…but it was too late. As the next verse notes, Belshazzar met his death that very night (Daniel 5:30).

Babylon had conquered Jerusalem and taken Daniel and others captive, but God moved Belshazzar to honor one of those captives, and very soon He would use the Persians to conquer Babylon. God works in wondrous ways to accomplish His will.

Prayer of Response to our Journey

Father, we have Your word and the history of others before us who, like Daniel and the Apostle Paul, have faithfully followed after You despite the challenges and dangers. Likewise, we have those who have gone before us or are around us today who have chosen the way of the world and their own desires- Please help us to learn from the message Daniel gave to Belshazzar, who, through the life of Nebuchadnezzar, knew that he should humble himself before God but instead chose to exalt himself against the Lord of heaven. Help us to remember that the choices we make always affect others and to make them in light of Your Word and Will rather than our desires or feelings at the moment. Help us to stay sober and alert, as our enemy, the devil, is always on the prowl looking for someone to devour. Thank You for the reminder that You are sovereign, ruling from Heaven, working in wondrous ways to accomplish Your will. – In the name of Jesus – Amen!

Reflection for the Journey

So, what’s your criteria when making decisions? Is it based on what feels/looks/seems good to you, or is it based on what you know is right/wrong in God’s eyes?

The More We Know About the Journey

For further reading: Luke 12:15-21

Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

¹⁶Then he told them a story: “A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. ¹⁷He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ ¹⁸Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. ¹⁹And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’

²¹“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”

Everyday I declare the Goodness of God. I look for it and see it often in my own life or in the life of someone I know. I see it in His Word or played out on the world’s stage in some miracle unexplainable by man. I know He is good. I trust in His goodness. I rehearse it daily in prayer and praise to Him, and I proclaim it often to others. However, there are days when the goodness is overshadowed by the disappointments in life or the hurtful deeds and words of another. There are, I confess, moments when I find myself tempted to doubt or at the very least question ‘it’. *I mean where is His goodness in job loss or the devastating illness of a loved one? Where is ‘it’ in financial struggles, the hurtful words of a friend, or when a spouse walks out on the marriage? Where is His goodness when the ones we trust aren’t honest with us or a trusted confident betrays us? Where is it when the something good we’ve waited for comes – and then just as quickly is taken away. Where is it when ________? You fill in the blank. I would venture to say that if we are honest we can all fill in that blank.

We may not want to admit it but, I believe, we’ve all experienced something that has made us at least wonder, even for a fleeting second, if God is really good then why did this happen? When it does, we must be careful and quick to remember – when “we do not see God’s hand we can trust His heart”*. If we do not act quickly with the truths that we know – the enemy will gain a foothold and we will find ourselves tempted with bitterness, anger, ungodly responses, and all sorts of other sin. Satan’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy and there’s no greater destruction he would take pleasure in than to make us doubt or turn away from our God. Peter called the devil an adversary and told the Jewish Christians of his day that if they would “resist” the devil he would flee from them. Just in case we think this warning was only for the Jewish Christians of Peter’s day, we must remember that God gave us His word and said it “is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness”. When doubts come we must be prepared to use our knowledge from God’s Word to stand firm. To be prepared we must put into practice the words Paul wrote to Timothy and train for godliness.

Physical training is good but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and the life to come. 1 Timothy 4:8 (NLT)

To train for godliness we must first and foremost know God’s Word so that we can put our training into practice. For instance -when we know that His Word says He is our provider we must learn to trust Him to provide in our time of need. The same is true of the proclamation that He is our deliverer, when faced with trying situations we must trust that He will deliver us. Trusting God to be faithful as His Word declares may not always be easy but it is always beneficial, developing an enduring faith. When we practice trusting, despite the inevitable times when He doesn’t deliver or provide exactly as we requested or hoped, we will no doubt, in time, experience Him to be a faithful provider and deliverer and so much more. These experiences will foster a personal relationship with God. They will also develop a confidence that is built up over time through the implementation of trusting, waiting, and reciprocal faithfulness to Him. For an example of such confidence, consider David’s words to Saul when Saul challenged his ability to face the giant, Goliath.

The LORD who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine. 1 Samuel 17:37

Again, when threatened by the giant himself, David recalls the faithfulness He has seen from God and declares his full confidence to be in Him – even in this difficult and life-threatening situation. From these experiences with His God came his confident reply to Goliath’s threat:

You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies – You have defied Him. Today, the LORD will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the LORD saves, for the battle is the LORD’S. He will hand you over to us. 1 Samuel 17:45-47

Ah, and there is the answer. We don’t just see His goodness when life is problem free – we see it in the realization that the battles of this life, the temptations of this fallen world we live in, or the full on attacks of our enemy, the devil – belong to the LORD. His goodness shines when we remember Who He is and what He has done on our behalf already. It is known when we know Whose we are and what it means to belong to Him. We experience it when it becomes evident that He has equipped us not just with armor and weapons for the battle but with everything we need for life and godliness. The answer lies in walking by faith and not by sight and keeping our eyes on the author and the perfecter of our faith. It is in knowing that He has promised a way of escape when we are tempted, looking for that way and taking it; and yes, it is in humbling ourselves before our God, resisting the devil – and believing he will flee. God’s Word is TRUTH and I believe His TRUTH sets us free not only from the law of sin and death but from the attacks, the fears, the battles, and the assault of the enemy. If we aren’t trained and ready with the TRUTH – when the doubts come – we will be shaken; but, if we set the LORD always before us, and know that He is at our right hand we will, like David, stand in the face of our problems or the adversary and proclaim “I come against you in the name of the LORD, my God!”

*On a personal note: Like David, I have learned that God can be trusted. I have tasted and seen His goodness in all of the difficult situations listed in the opening paragraph. So, when the days come where the disappointments, and hurts, or life’s challenges threaten to overshadow the goodness of God I practice David’s example of recalling what the LORD has done. I write it, or speak it out loud, or whisper it in a prayer, and I proclaim – Father I cannot see or understand what You’re doing or allowing, but I know You are Good and I will trust You. When doubts arise, I have learned to practice recalling His goodness and trusting His heart. I have those in my life that will come along side of me and remind me of the truth and I have often had to play that role in the lives of others. I am continually learning to walk by His Spirit, who lives in me and was given to teach me and remind me of everything Christ said (John 14:26). If you do not know God I would love to introduce Him to you, or if you are struggling to trust Him through a present battle I would be happy to pray for you – please just leave a reply that says I want to know Him – or pray for me.

Tag: training

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