View Site Map

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you. A stone was brought, and laid on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Daniel 6:16 WEB

After serving God faithfully, Daniel ended up being 'What's on the menu' in a stinking hole in the ground' or so it appeared to him when he was thrown in there. I believe that Daniel sat at the bottom of that Lion's Den, with the starving lions eyeing him hungrily, and thought: 'REALLY? This was the plan? What's up with that?'

Thank God the story does not end there. It turned out that it was a promotion for Daniel. The lions did not touch him, and after getting out he prospered under the king and had great respect. As a bonus, his enemies were tossed in and eaten so he did not have to worry about them anymore.

There have been times in my life when I have found myself in a stinking hole in the ground, right after trying my hardest to live right. Pray and fast for a few weeks, and then get laid off from work. What's up with that? In the end, every single time it worked out for my good.

At one point in stark contrast, I lost the best job that I ever had (until then) and soon had to work at the worst job that I ever had, and at one-third of the pay. I was praying and fasting a lot of the time and I knew that God was in control of my life. I also knew that He was testing me, it was so obvious, and the job was so bad that it was funny. This scripture kept ringing out to me:

'And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ' (Colossians 3:23'24).

So I made it into a game and set out to be the best floor sweeper that they had ever seen. My work area was immaculate. I showed up early, stayed late, and soon I found myself the manager. Then that door closed and the Lord pushed me into my own business. It was a strange path of promotion.

It just may be that what you think is the 'worst thing that could possibly happen to you' is indeed your path to favor and promotion. Work heartily just as you were working directly for the Lord, and you will be rewarded. Smile, God is the real boss.

Prayer: Heavenly Father I thank You so much for all that You are doing in my life. I know that You are in control of what happens to me for I have given my life to You. Help me focus on what matters and cover me with Your presence today, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.

Note: Happy Thursday :)! If you have felt a call to pray for others, or perhaps are even struggling with challenges in life yourself, we invite you to consider joining us as a Prayer Partner. We fully believe that God brings blessings to us, as we are taking time to bless others. You can find out more by clicking on the Prayer link on the site menu and choosing "Prayer Partner Signup", or just reply to the devotional email, or comment at the end of the post. We will find you :). If you are one who simply needs prayer, you are also more than welcome to go to the Prayer link and post your request. All prayer requests are private!

> You can subscribe to our daily devotional here <