Standing Out Consistently
Message by Daniel Carandang
Written by Agatha Apolinario
It’s
easy to say one thing, but it’s hard to live up
to it.
In
our world today, a lot of people are inconsistent. They have a hard time
keeping their promises. Some even say one thing but do another.
As
Christians, we proclaim our faith and love for God but oftentimes, it doesn’t
show in our actions especially when the people around us persecute and make fun
of us. Our world is composed of such worldly things—things the flesh
desires which is why it’s difficult to live
a consistently God-honoring life, and a life that consistently stands out.
Hard,
isn’t
it?
With
that, we ask ourselves:
Is
it really possible to live a life that stands out and is pleasing to God?
It
pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with
three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made
accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 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.
Daniel
6:1-4
Daniel
had such exceptional qualities that the King wanted him to become prime
minister. The king admired him for his character and what he does. This made a
lot of people jealous. He was envied by many. Some people even tried to find
corruption in him. They tried to find anything that could be used against him,
but they couldn’t, because Daniel was trustworthy.
Because of this, the people who envied him resorted to one solution which they
thought was the only way to attack Daniel—through his faith.
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.”
Daniel
6:5
They
made godliness against authority. They made praying and worshipping God a
crime, because they thought that through this, they will be able to strike
Daniel.
Yet,
amidst all of this, Daniel didn’t conform to them.
He remained as he is, even when everyone around him was corrupt. It was easier to
compromise and to lash back, but Daniel stood out with his God-honoring
response to trials and to the people who did him evil.
He
continued to pray to God and give Him thanks.
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.
Daniel
6:10
In
reality, we face temptations everyday. It may be peer pressure, cheating in an
exam, or conforming to worldly things.
Given
this, how can we now stand out the way Daniel did?
How
can Daniel’s
STANDOUT lifestyle be real in our lives?
So
I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is
contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are
not to do whatever you want
Galatians
5:16-17
When
you put your faith in God, the Holy Spirit comes in you.
We
oftentimes misunderstand the Holy Spirit as a force. But you see, the Holy
Spirit isn’t
a force. It’s
God. It’s
a person that’s
part of the Holy Trinity.
In
Galatians 5:16-17, we are told to walk by the Spirit for us to not gratify the
desires of the flesh. It’s like walking in a
grassy garden when you follow the path in order to reach the end. In our lives,
we should follow the path the Holy Spirit leads us to. When we do, we now have
a new nature which is apart from our sinful nature. Because we are now being
controlled by the Holy Spirit who is now living in us.
We
shouldn’t
take this in the wrong way. God tells us to do these things because He knows
that these are what’s good for us. He does this because He
cares. He’s
doing this to PROTECT us because He knows nothing good will come to us if we
conform to the world.
Do
not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the
Spirit,
Ephesians
5:18
Sin
is like a chocolate-coated poop. It’s only pleasant at
first but the longer it consumes you, the more it poisons you.
When
we walk by the Spirit, He will empower and bless us to live a life that will
not conform to the world, a life that will be set apart from the rest, a life
that will STAND OUT. And we can be guaranteed that He will help us become
victorious.
Let’s
take a branch for example. Will it be able to bear fruit if it’s
disconnected from the tree?
Of
course not.
It
needs the tree in order to bear fruit—to have a sense of
purpose.
Like
branches, we should stay connected to God, our tree, in order for us to bear
fruit. Because that won’t be possible if we
are separated from Him. This is the reason why it’s important that we
spend some quality time with Him, hear His word, and open our hearts to Him.
You
see, the enemy likes to fill our minds with lies. He would like us to think
that when we sin, we can no longer come to God. But God is a very forgiving
god. He doesn’t
care of the things we did in the past, whether we did wrong or not, which is
why we should forget about all the things we did, and focus on having an
intimate relationship with Him now because all those things have already
happened, there’s nothing we could do to take back
time, all we could do is to ask for forgiveness and yield to Him.
Because
it’s
not about how much of God we have, but about how much of us He has.
Daniel
stood up for God. He didn’t compromise nor
did he lash back. He didn’t let the people
around him change him because he knows that that wouldn’t please and honor
God.
Daniel’s
story would’ve
still been a magnificent one even if the lions attacked him. It would have been
an incredible story of a man’s strong faith in
God. But God chose to show his power and magnificence when He didn’t
let those lions touch Daniel.
No,
not even a single scratch.
Daniel
answered, “May the king live forever! 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. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you,
Your Majesty.”
Daniel
6:21-22
The
King was so amazed with what has happened to Daniel that He issued a decree
claiming that every part of his kingdom must fear God.
Then
King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the
earth:
“May
you prosper greatly!
26
“I
issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence
the God of Daniel.
“For
he is the living God
and he endures forever;
his
kingdom will not be destroyed,
his dominion will never end.”
Daniel
6:25-26
Daniel
stood out for God. He let the world see how great and powerful God is.
Let’s
live a life like Daniel’s, a life that
walks by the Holy Spirit, a life that displays God’s honor and power,
a life that STANDS OUT for God.
Hard?
Yes, very
but
NOT IMPOSSIBLE
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