Surrender

Daniel 6:10 (KJV 1900)

Daniel 6:7–10 KJV 1900

7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellers, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.

Daniel 6:16–24 KJV 1900

16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee. 17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? 21 Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. 22 My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt. 23 Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.

Situation: You been giving your all, perhaps leading a team for a project, and at its completion, your hours are cut, and they give you two weeks notice.

Situation: You receive word from your Dr. that the diagnosis is not what you were hoping for.

Situation: You have received a notice from the county that you’re behind on your taxes, you have 1 month to come up with 12k.

Each of these situations is traumatic if you’re going through them. Perhaps some of you have gone through them and you can really relate. What do we do when these situations come up? If you were about to lose your job you could suddenly start working lots of overtime without pay to impress the boss. You could even volunteer to wash his car. You could submarine other co-workers in an effort to elevate your stature and importance to the company.

Many of us would choose a response that allows us to gain control of the situation. That is basically the root of the problem with all of these scenarios – Control. We want our lives to be predictable and controlled. Most of us don’t deal well with surprises, especially unpleasant ones. We will do some of the most unbelievable things in order to get control of an uncontrollable situation. We believe that in having that control we will have peace. Often in our own efforts to make things better, we make them many times worse. Instead of peace, we find chaos.

How can we have control and peace? How do we get our arms around our chaotic situations and stabilize them. I have an interesting passage of scripture to look at as we deal with this dilemma.

Read Daniel 6:10,16-24

Paraphrase the setting – Darius is the new king. Daniel is promoted to one of three top overseers of the kingdom. He is on the verge of getting promoted to the top position. Jealousy creeps in and a trap is set for Daniel. The schemers use the king’s vanity and pride to set the trap- no one can pray except to pray to the king.

I. Daniel knew the law was in effect, yet he was faithful to God

a. Life isn’t easy, Satan is seeking to derail your life, and rattle your faith

b. In the face of a real threat to his life, Daniel’s solution was to pray

II. Daniel had risen to prominence in the kingdom. He could’ve tried to solve the problem himself.

a. He could have argued his case before the king – It’s not fair!

b. He could have pointed his finger at the ones that laid the trap – “It’s not my fault…”

c. He could have given in and gone with the crowd – “This is just one big misunderstanding.”

III. Daniel counted on God to deliver him – he saw no other options.

a. How many of us would have been anxious for God’s deliverance?

IV. Daniel praises God for his deliverance – vs. 22, 23.

Like it or not, you will face difficult times in your life. Many of us are tempted to deal with those issues in our own strength and might. Daniel provides us with an example of how we should deal with them.

1 – Stand strong in our faith to God

2 – When faced with difficult decisions – pray and seek God’s will

3 – Refrain from depending on our own might to solve it all

4 – patiently wait on God’s solution & will for the situation

5 – Regardless of the outcome, praise God for being God in your time of trouble

Earthly Powers may decree it & put their stamp of Authority on It…but God is above it all!

Psalm 150 KJV 1900

1 Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: Praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: Praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: Praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: Praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: Praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

Surrender & Allow God to be God!

Conclusion: Are you still trying to fight your own battles? Let Go, Let God be God in your life.