When The Odds Are Stacked Against You

This past week one of our morning devotions was based out of Daniel 6-the passage where Daniel is thrown into the lion's den. Upon reading through this passage, I was so convicted of how easily I allow fear to creep in when I feel as if the odds are being stacked against me. These are the times in which we should be rejoicing because God is setting up to do His thing. He is setting the stage for His glory to be revealed in mighty ways. Throughout this passage, it is very clear that the odds were stacked against Daniel. Kind Darius issued a law that stated that if anyone prayed to any other god but himself, that person would be thrown into the lion's den. Daniel, of course, being the the faithful servant of God that he was,still did as he had always done and continued to pray to God three times a day. I have to stop and think at this point if I would even do that. Even without persecution we sometimes don't have that devotion and endurance. If you're familiar with the story, you know that Daniel was caught in this act and thrown into the lion's den. This is the part of the passage that really came to life to me this past week. In vs. 17 it says that "A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed the stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles, so that no one could rescue Daniel." God's word, being as intentional as it is, shows that every effort was made so that Daniel could not be rescued by human strength. The odds were stacked against him. God was setting the stage for His glory to be revealed. How often do we, in our human nature, get frustrated with God because we feel like He's "setting things against us" just to get to us, or to "punish" us? What we really need to focus on is the miracle, or rescue, that is most likely coming after. It's less about finding "happiness" for ourselves and more about realizing that God's ways are not our ways and that His timing is perfect. For some reason it can be so easy to trust Him with eternity, but so difficult to trust Him with our tomorrow. Isaiah 40:31 ("But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.") has been brought to mind a lot this week as I seek God's peace in this area. At the end of the passage when Daniel is thrown into the den, vs. 22 states that not only did God protect Daniel from death, but He completely shut the lions' mouths and didn't even allow a scratch on Daniel. What an awesome, powerful, faithful God! It can be so terrifying to trust that what the Lord is doing is good and take the step of faith, but He is so faithful and we can't put Him in a box. The greater the odds, the more His glory can shine through. It's up to us to walk in obedience and allow that glory to be revealed. So whether it be in a financial situation, a life decision, or a certain need, I pray that you'll be able to trust in God and His character. My personal prayer this week has been Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." The God who rescued Daniel from the mouths of those lions is still the same God today and He's always working in and around us. We just need to step out in faith when He calls so that His glory can shine through our lives.

What I Sing Needs to be Seen....

In completion of our first week of training with CTI, here are a few thoughts.

This past week has been a crazy, whirl-wind of events and emotions. In the last week, life has drastically changed for all 15 of us full-timers. We've had to say hard good-byes to loved friends and family, meet a bunch of random, crazy, Jesus-loving people who we will be spending the next year traveling with, try to put together 24 rep songs as a full-band, adapt to living in host homes, learn how to share a relevant testimony with those we come in contact with, and most importantly, we've been entrusted to keep up with our one-on-one time with the Lord in the midst of the chaos. Needless to say, it has been a crazy week! Praise God that He sustains and give us strength. He is so very gracious. Amongst all of this change and "newness" to life right now, I know I can definitely praise God for one thing in particular over all, and that is for how He is drawing me closer to Himself by putting me in this position. There's something so amazing and comforting about having that raw dependency on God. A common theme that has come up this week for us full-timers has been 2 Corinthians 12:9: "Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me." God's power is made perfect in our weaknesses. What a mind-blowing thought. I have also found, as we've been practicing our rep music, that a lot of the songs we will be doing this year have applied to me personally right now. In one of our songs, "Love Come to Life," Big Daddy Weave writes "Has my life been an empty voice? What I sing needs to be seen." This line in this song has been so convicting for me, because even though as full-timers we have committed to being set apart for ministry for a year, we still battle the same struggles and temptations as everyone else. The other day at training we talked about how easy it is to let physical and spiritual laziness creep in throughout the year. After a long day of training it's easy to say "Oh, I've spent the whole day doing something for the Lord so I can skip my personal devo time tonight," or "All day I've been around people; I just want to hibernate in my room and not worry about investing in the people around me." While rest is never a bad thing, it has been easy to be selfish with any "time off." In all reality, our lives are our ministry. It's not just the time spent as a team, or the time spent playing concerts that constitutes as our "ministry." It's how we live our lives. What we sing needs to be seen. The hope and love that we, as a team, present from the stage needs to be lived out personally in our own lives. Actions speak so much louder than words,Christ needs to be evident through how we live. The fact that we get to use words is just a bonus. In Romans 15, vs. 1b-3a, Paula writes: "We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn't live to please himself." This year we will be focusing on sharing the hope of Christ as well as encouraging the church, so if our lives are not an encouragement to others, and we're not building others up in the Lord, then what are we doing? If Christ, the Son of God, didn't live to please himself, then we certainly shouldn't either. All that we do, and all that we are, should reflect the love of Christ. What we sing needs to be seen!