In Suffering We Might See A Miracle
So let's remember. Daniel has been locked in a den of hungry lions all night. King Darius has not slept, but just before dawn, here's what he does.
Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?" Then Daniel said to the king, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm." Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. — Daniel 6:19-23
So we see that Darius is eager and unashamed to embrace the judgment of his decisions. That's what a man does, fellas. When he sins, he experiences guilt and moves away from sin toward more godly choices. And he does it eagerly.
So in faith, Darius goes quickly to the den. When he looks upon the den and his royal seals, he cries out in anguish at the evidence of his sin. But then he calls out to the man behind the den. I am sure the others with him are surprised at both his remorse and his hopeful call to Daniel in the den. But this man is eager to know what God has done. I imagine a moment of silence after Darius calls out, and then there is a call from the cave. It's Daniel's voice. It's the voice of vindication by God. And Darius sees with his own eyes that God can save. Because God is greater than a king's pride. God is greater than man's envy. God's plans are more cunning than any politician's. And God's law is higher than any Persian law.
So here's the application. If you are enduring the consequences of someone else's sin and feel like it isn't fair, you need to know it is. The Bible is clear. We live in a fallen world. Because we do, one man's sin will affect another. This may feel unfair, but it's not. That's what sin does. That's exactly what your sin does. It results in suffering for you and others. This is because sin never affects only the sinner. It affects people in our life like our wife, children, family, friendships, and others we do life with. Sometimes we may feel like this isn't fair, or just, or right, but actually, it is. It is entirely fair for you to suffer for your sin and for you to suffer for someone else's sin. Because there isn't any such thing as an innocent suffer. At least not until Jesus. Jesus was the only truly innocent sufferer. He did not sin and still suffered. And he suffered for the sin of all mankind because he loved us and wanted us to have a relationship with him. And because of what Jesus has done, we, too, can suffer as he did. We can suffer well at the hands of sinful men in the hopes that God will save and vindicate us either here or in the hereafter. Sometimes we enjoy the fortune of vindication and salvation here. It does not always happen this way, but that's what Daniel experienced. And so, Daniel suffered faithfully, and in doing so, God did a miraculous work through him. But the miracle only occurs is Daniel suffers well. So guys suffer well today. You never know what God may do.
ASK THIS: Are you suffering well or rejecting the suffering?
DO THIS: Suffer well and pray for a miracle.
PRAY THIS: God, for me, the victimizer, forgive me. And for me, the victimized, may I be faithful.
PLAY THIS: Son of Suffering.
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Thank you Vince for these daily devotionals. I have been watching everyday for more than a month now and is a great blessing to me and part of my daily devotion now. I like that it is focused on men only because these insights and applications are exactly what we need to hear. Keep up the good work. -Joe