I’ve been reading the Book of Daniel with the true historical accounts of Daniel in the lion’s den, the fiery furnace, interpreting dreams and more. It reminded me of a book I read in my early teenage years, although, I can’t seem to recall the name of that book. It was a study about several teenagers who’s lives were documented in the Word of God, whose stories inspired me to be bold and courageous as I traversed through the difficult teenage years.
I was just thinking about that book today and how it influenced me to live my life pure and chaste before the Lord in those days. I’ll tell you, it wasn’t easy. I remember the school bus sports trips when I would listen to my Walkman to try drown out the inappropriate talk in the back seats (not to mention the inappropriate behavior) that was going on. I learned to take my thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5) and chose to think on what was true, pure, right and good. It was hard to be the fish swimming upstream, I’m not gonna lie. It was difficult to not go with the crowd. But it was the choice I made. I did have a strong example, besides those in the Word of God, who lived a life devoted to Jesus. You may remember Rob Reimer, the young man who played with the Moose Jaw Warriors in the late 80s. He did not compromise. He lived his life fully devoted to following Jesus and I admired that.
Daniel was one of those daring teenagers who was bold enough to follow after God rather even when it was difficult. During his three year training course to prepare for service to the King, he made a bold request that he and his friends not eat meat, sweets or drink wine for 10 days. In the end, he and his friends were stronger and in better physical shape than their counterparts. What about the time when Daniel was appointed one of three national governors but his jealous colleagues devised a plan to have him killed? Daniel was bold enough to continuing praying three times a day, as was his custom, even though it was a set-up to trap him and eventually eliminate him. We all know the end result of that story; God shut the lions’ mouths and he was saved while his jealous colleagues and their wives and children were, in turn, thrown in the den and were devoured even before they hit the floor.
We find ourselves in a war for our nation. We are seeing our freedoms being taken away. Not a day goes by that I am not conscious of the dangerous path we are walking down. It is necessary that we become bolder to stand up for what is right. Edmund Burke, who served as a member of parliament from 1766-1794 in the House of Commons of Great Britain said: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Silence is not golden. We must begin to make bold moves through prayer, petition and education to change the course of this country back to God. We cannot be silent any longer and let our country, which was founded on Biblical principles, lose the ground it has taken.
It’s time to let our voices be heard in the airwaves... praying, boldly declaring and decreeing God’s vision for our nation. It’s time to put our boots on the ground and move forward, not backing down.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
