Unshakable: Thriving No Matter What Hits You

Don’t Conform. Be Transformed!

“Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete
change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God”(Romans 12:2a GNT).
You have two choices in life. You’ll either be conformed or transformed.
There’s no middle ground.
Just ask Daniel.
Daniel faced a choice. Either he could take the king’s food and be conformed to the ways of the Babylonian Empire,
or he could refuse to defile his body and stay true to his values.
Daniel stayed strong. He never forgot who he was. He said, “You can change my address. You can change my
clothing. You can change my name. But you’re not going to change my heart. I won’t be conformed to the ways of
this society.”
Too many of us choose differently than Daniel did. Instead of sticking to our values, we live like everyone else. We
conform.
But the Bible reminds us, “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you
inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God” (Romans 12:2a GNT).
I talk to people all the time who can’t figure out what God wants them to do with their lives because they’re
conformed to the world. They’re more interested in being like everyone else than in being the unique person that
God made them to be. As long as you’re worried about conforming, you won’t worry about God transforming you.
And in that case, you won’t know the will of God.
But if you make Daniel’s choice and choose God’s best for your life, he’ll transform you. Then you’ll know the will of
God.

Godly Discipline Leads to Success

“Do not let any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourself
completely to God . . . as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God” (Romans 6:13 NLT).
Daniel had a choice. Eat the king’s food, or control his ego and his appetite.
Daniel chose the latter.
Many teenagers wouldn’t have made that choice. Think about it. You’re 15 years old, and you’ve been taken by force
from your home country. You’re never going to see your parents again. You’re in a foreign country with no parental
supervision. Then the most powerful man in that country offers you all kinds of perks and says, “You’re going to be
on my personal staff. I’m going to give you power, prestige, and pleasure. You’ll get the best of everything.”
Could you turn that down?
Just consider what we see sometimes in sports. A kid can shoot a basketball, throw a football, or swing a bat. They’re
drafted into the professional leagues and receive tons of money. They’re given all kinds of perks, but they can’t
handle that kind of success. Good kids can be ruined by too much success, too early.
That could have easily been Daniel’s story, but it wasn’t. He was incredibly disciplined for a 15-year-old kid isolated
from his parents. Daniel reflected what Paul wrote hundreds of years later, when he said in Romans 6:13: “Do not let
any part of your body become a tool of wickedness, to be used for sinning. Instead, give yourself completely to
God . . . as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God” (NLT).
For Daniel, a lack of discipline would mean forfeiting God’s unique plan for his life. Daniel wouldn’t do that.
So he tells the most powerful man in the world, “Nebuchadnezzar, I’m going to serve you because God put me here.
I’m not here without his permission, so I’ll serve you. You are a pagan king. But I’m not going to be indebted to you
or conformed by you. You can give me all these kind of perks, but I’m never going to forget that I’m not you. I’m not
one of you. I’m Jewish. I’m not Babylonian.”
That’s maturity — and discipline, particularly for a 15-year-old. When we’re disciplined and obedient and following
God’s will, we will be successful in God’s eyes.

Stand True to What You Believe

“Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13b NLT).
You see it over and over in Scripture. God uses people who show courage, people who stand up when everyone else
sits down.
Just look at Daniel. Daniel is one of only two people in history to whom God revealed how the world ends (the other
is the apostle John). God used Daniel like few men in human history.
But before God used Daniel to change the world, Daniel stood up to the most powerful man in the world. When King
Nebuchadnezzar told him to eat his Babylonian food, Daniel said no. Think about it. He rejected the king. He said,
“Sorry, king — your food isn’t good enough for me. I can’t eat it.” Daniel was respectful but firm in his refusal to
compromise.
I’m sure there were many other Jewish young men taken captive who saw no problem with eating the king’s food.
I’m sure those people said, “But everybody’s doing it!”
But Daniel said, “I don’t care if the whole world eats the king’s food. It’s not right. I’m not going to do it.”
Daniel stood with courage. He was willing to stand alone. History has shown us that the majority is wrong much of
the time. Just because the majority likes a particular value or passes a particular law doesn’t mean that value or that
law is right.
Only God decides what’s true, not us. Only God decides what’s right and wrong. It’s not up to a majority vote.
The Bible says, “Stand true to what you believe. Be courageous. Be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13b NLT).
We need people of courage today to stand up to evil in a culture that’s turning wrong into right and darkness into
light. And because that’s what God calls us to do, he will support and reward you when you stand firm for him.

God Uses the Humble

“Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel” (Daniel 1:9 NLT).
God uses humble people. When Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar he wouldn’t eat Babylonian food, the young
Hebrew could have acted with defiance and vitriol.
Instead, Daniel chose to act with respect. When he couldn’t do what the king asked him to do, he simply said so. It’s
against my values. It’s morally wrong for me to do so. He displayed great tact with authority and showed great
humility in the process.
Daniel realized that God had allowed this pagan leader to have authority over him. He knew King Nebuchadnezzar
wasn’t a God-fearing man, but he also knew God allowed him to be his boss.
Some of you have bad bosses, too. Understand this, though: God has allowed them in your life. At some point in your
life, you’ll have a time when a bad boss will ask you to do something unethical or immoral. You’ll need to know how
to make a respectful appeal.
Daniel provides us with a great model.
The Bible says of Daniel, “He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods” (Daniel 1:8b
NLT).
Daniel didn’t demand. He didn’t rebel. He sought permission. He asked, “Can I be exempted from this?”
The Bible says, “Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel”(Daniel 1:9 NLT).
The world urges us to show bluster when we’re wronged. God urges us to show respect.
And we can always know that God is looking out for our best interests.

How to Make a Case to Someone in Authority

“Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah,
‘Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare
our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with
what you see.’ So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days” (Daniel 1:11-14 NIV).
As a believer, you will face some situations when you need to convince someone in authority which direction they
should go or when you need to make an appeal for someone to change their mind about a decision.
Here are six things to do when you need to make a case before an authority. You can see all six of these actions in
the life of Daniel, particularly in the first chapter of the book bearing his name.
1. Develop a reputation for responsibility (Proverbs 22:29) — People with great responsibility notice people
who are responsible. The king’s official had great respect for Daniel. That’s why Daniel was able to make his
appeal. Christians should have a similar reputation in the marketplace and in their community.
2. Be humble and not belligerent (Proverbs 25:6) — You don’t demand your way. Daniel didn’t do that. He
asked the king’s official to try something. Threats never work with people in authority. Be humble or you’ll
stumble.
3. Don’t be deceptive or manipulative (2 Corinthians 4:2) — God does not honor dishonesty. God says you’re
on your own if you lie.
4. Appeal to their goals and their interests — Start with what they want, not what you want. Daniel told the
official, “We have the same goal. We both want me to eat food that makes me healthy. I just want to do it
differently. We don’t have a problem with the goal — just how we complete the goal.” You don’t get your
way by pressing your own agenda and going to war over it.
 5. Choose the right place, time, and words (Proverbs 16:21) — What’s the right place? Always privately. You
never confront authority in public. It just solidifies their opposition. The right time? Not when the person is
frustrated, tired, or hungry. The right words? Be polite and pleasant.
6. Trust God if they reject your appeal (Romans 8:28) — The Bible clearly tells us that God works for the good
of those who love him. Not everything that happens in your life will be good, but you can trust God to work
it for good.
Guess what? You’ll never have to confront authority on your own. Jesus says he’ll never leave you. You have the Holy
Spirit. You have God’s promises. You have God’s family — the church — to stand with you.
You’re not alone.
The Bible says, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4b GW).

Become A Lifelong Learner

“Do yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper” (Proverbs 19:8
GNT).
Many people spend their younger years getting an education. Hopefully, that commitment to education continues.
We should all become lifelong learners.
The Bible says a lot about the importance of getting an education and continuing to learn. In fact, we’re told to love
God with our minds (see Luke 10:27).
How do you love God with your mind? By using it, developing it, and not wasting it. The Bible says it this way: “Do
yourself a favor and learn all you can; then remember what you learn and you will prosper” (Proverbs 19:8 GNT).
Do you want to be successful in life? The Bible says to learn and then apply what you’ve learned.
In almost every country in the world, it’s not an accident that Christians were responsible for starting the first school
and the first hospital. We believe God doesn’t just care about your soul. He cares about your mind and your body,
too.
You may not have had the opportunity to get a formal education, but there are still many ways you can learn.
Getting an education can be a good investment of your time and your money — an investment in yourself.
But let’s be clear about this. Your education doesn’t end with school, and school isn’t the only place where we learn
and get educated. To be successful, you’ll need to learn the rest of your life.
And you also have to be careful. You need to guard your mind. You need to learn the right stuff.
Proverbs 4:13 says, “Always remember what you have learned. Your education is your life — guard it well” (GNT).
Over the next few days in these devotionals, I’ll share some specific biblical wisdom about what it takes to guard
what you put into your mind — whether you’re in high school, college, or an adult who is continuing to learn.

When Your Education Tests Your Faith, You Have Three Choices
In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12 NIV).
Education is vitally important to all of us. It’s one of the few parts of our lives that should never end. We should
always be learning. The Bible describes it as a key to a successful life (Proverbs 19:8).
But like anything so important, we have to guard it. We have to ensure that our learning draws us closer to God and
doesn’t pull us away from him.
That starts with a decision.
You have to decide in advance to stand for God.
The time to think through your loyalty to God isn’t when you’re learning something new. It’s before you even start.
The Bible tells us, “In the world you have tribulation” (John 16:33b NASB).
This verse doesn’t say “you might” have troubles. It doesn’t say “if” you have troubles. It says you will have
troubles. And that includes your education. Your faith will be tested by your education. No doubt about it.
In 2 Timothy 3:12 we read, “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (NIV).
If you’re not suffering any persecution in your life, it may indicate you’re not living an entirely godly life. It may mean
you’re trying to be a chameleon where some people don’t know you’re a Christian.
Count on being tested in your education. You can fail a big math test. But you can’t fail the most important test you’ll
ever take — the test of your faith. It has eternal consequences.
When your education tests your faith, you have three choices.
You can take a dive. You withdraw and just drop your faith.
You can withdraw. You simply compartmentalize your life, and you don’t let God’s Word impact what you’re
learning.
You can determine to thrive. You choose to run what you’re learning through the filter of God’s Word.
That’s what Daniel and his friends did in the first chapter of Daniel. Before going through the king’s indoctrination
program, Daniel “made up his mind not to defile himself” (Daniel 1:8a NLT).
Daniel and his friends didn’t let phony ideas blow up their faith. Neither should you.
Decide from the start you’ll protect your mind. Decide you’ll run everything through a biblical filter. That’s how you
thrive in your education — and your faith. And use this filter no matter how old you are or where you are in life —
God wants you to be a lifelong learner, which means you’ll face lifelong challenges to your faith.
Remember that God is for you, not against you, when you’re being tested. He’s guiding you into a deeper faith and a
closer relationship with him.

Disciples of Jesus Never Stop Learning

“Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insights” (Proverbs 18:15 The Message).
All leaders are learners. There are no exceptions. If you’re teaching in a classroom, caring for kids as a stay-at-home
parent, or serving in a customer service role, you’re leading someone. And to do that more effectively, you need to
keep learning.
When you stop learning, you start dying. It’s that simple.
No matter how old you are and no matter what kind of career you’re in, you need to be learning. Pick up a new skill.
Study a fresh topic. Read a new book. Start a new Bible study.
The Bible says in Proverbs 18:15, “Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh
insights” (Proverbs 18:15 The Message).
One of the most important roles you have in life is as a student. Jesus wants us to be disciples. That’s just another
word for learner. You’re learning what it means to follow Christ.
Disciples of Jesus keep learning. They never stop.
When I was 14 years old, I started reading two books a week. At one point in my life, I was reading a book a day. I
now have more than 35,000 books in my library. Why? The people you hang out with and the books you read will
determine your future.
You’ll do yourself a favor when you keep learning. The Bible teaches us, “Those who get wisdom do themselves a
favor, and those who love learning will succeed” (Proverbs 19:8 NCV).

Successful Learning Starts by Immersing in God’s Word

“Never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so that you will faithfully do
everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed” (Joshua 1:8 GW).
To really excel in whatever you’re learning (whether it’s a new skill, a new theory, or about a new person), you must
first steep yourself in God’s Word.
I chose the word steep intentionally. Do you know what it means to steep a tea bag? You take a tea bag out, dunk it
in hot water, and bounce it up and down. You can’t do that quickly. You won’t have any tea. You need to do it slowly.
When you do that, you extract all of the flavor out of that tea bag.
You need to do the same thing with God’s Word if you want to really excel in whatever you’re learning. You don’t do
it rapidly. I believe in speed-reading. I do it frequently. But I never speed-read the Bible. I read it slowly, word by
word. Why? The Bible says every word of God is pure.
Before you learn anything, start by steeping yourself in God’s Word. It’s the key to being successful.
Everyone wants to succeed. You want to succeed in your career. You want to succeed in your relationships. You want
to succeed in your learning. The Bible gives clear counsel to anyone who wants to succeed.
Joshua 1:8 says of God’s Word, “Never stop reciting these teachings. You must think about them night and day so
that you will faithfully do everything written in them. Only then will you prosper and succeed” (GW).
God’s not a liar. This is his promise to you. If you want to be successful and prosperous in life, study his Word
continuously.
It’ll make you wise. And the Bible says, with wisdom will come riches and honor.
But that starts with knowing God’s Word.

Study What’s Real to Detect What Isn’t True

“Since only your rules can give me wisdom and understanding, no wonder I hate every false teaching” (Psalm
119:104 TLB).
The only way to really know what’s fake is to know what’s real. The U.S. Treasury Department trains its agents to
spot counterfeit bills by giving them authentic ones to examine, touch, and recognize. There are many ways to
counterfeit, but there’s only one version of the real bills.
So, a good educational principle is to study what’s real in order to detect what isn’t true. That’s why it is so
important to study God’s Word. By knowing biblical truth, we’re able to spot false teaching.
Many people today fall for foolish ideas because they don’t know the truth. And because they don’t know what is
authentic, they can’t spot a lie.
The psalmist wrote, “Since only your rules can give me wisdom and understanding, no wonder I hate every false
teaching” (Psalm 119:104 TLB).
So how can we find more time to spend in God’s Word?
Spend less time in front of screens. Spend less time on our devices. Spend less time cheering on our favorite sports
team.
By the time a typical American student graduates from high school today, he or she will have spent more than
30,000 hours in front of a screen (including video games, tablets, laptops, and televisions).
Any guess how long it takes to read the entire Bible — all 66 books? It’ll take just 80 hours.
So, we do have the time. The question is, “How will we use our time?” God gave us his Word to give us the wisdom
we need to live a fulfilling and productive life.

Find Friends Who Build You Up

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV).
Let’s agree upfront that God wants you to have non-believers as friends. God wants you to love everyone, show
kindness to everyone, and be able to help everyone. If you don’t have any non-Christian friends, you won’t be
around anyone who needs to hear the Good News.
But your best friends should be Christians. They should be strong believers.
It’s always easier to pull people down than to pull them up. That’s why you must make sure the people you hang out
with the most are moving you in the right direction. They should be building you up rather than tearing you down.
Where do you want to be in 10 years? What kind of person do you want to be? Tell me two things about you and I
can tell you where you’ll be without even knowing you. Tell me the people you’re spending your time with and what
you’re reading. Those two factors will determine your future.
The Bible teaches us, “Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character’” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV).
Your friends are too important to pick by chance. You must be intentional. That’s why you need a church home. Get
to know people at church. Build relationships. Join a small group.
Or start a group! Gather some Christian friends from your office or your neighborhood to study the Bible together
during lunch. You need Christian friends. Do what it takes to build those relationships.

A Surprising Spiritual Truth from Coal

“Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the
day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).
These days you don’t have to go to church to watch a worship service. You can just stay home and see it online. You
can stay in your pajamas, and make a late breakfast.
But the Bible makes it clear. “Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one
another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near” (Hebrews 10:25 NLT).
And this is why you need a church family. This is why we need to gather as groups of believers who can live life
together as we follow Jesus together.
Without a church family, you’ll drift when it’s tough to trust Christ. I can look back on my life and see times when, if I
had missed a specific worship service, my life would have taken a radically different turn. And I’ve thought, “What if
I’d skipped that service? What if I’d just slept in that day?” I would have missed something that changed the
direction of the rest of my life. So if the church doors are open, I want to be inside.
A church is kind of like a campfire. In a campfire you’ve got all these red-hot coals. If you remove one single coal and
set it far away, it will cool in a matter of minutes. The fire goes out, and the coal goes dark. But if you take a coal
that’s lost its fire and put it back into the fire, it gets hot again. That’s the power of fellowship.
Now, I know there are times when we can’t make it to church, and we can be grateful that there are ways we can
still connect, such as watching a worship service online or listening to a podcast. You may be too sick to come to
church, or you may have times when you live hundreds of miles from the nearest church, such as when brave men
and women serve in the military. You might even be serving the Lord in some remote region of the world.
In cases like these, it’s still important to stay connected as best you can with other believers, who can help you stay
encouraged and faithful. And it’s important for people within our congregations to reach out to individuals who
experience challenges in getting to church every week.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20, “Where two or three have come together in my name, I am there among
them” (GW). Let’s continue to pray and support each other, and “let us consider how we may spur one another on
toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24 NIV).

Focus on Your Future to Get Through Temporary Troubles

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12 NIV).
When we follow Jesus, we will face trouble. The Bible says that’s guaranteed. You’ll be harassed, persecuted,
rejected, and ridiculed because of your faith.
But that’s not the end of the story. The Bible also says that Jesus endured the torture of the cross “for the joy set
before him.”
You, too, must focus on your future reward if you want to get through your temporary troubles.
Imagine the scene at the end of history. Everyone who has ever lived will one day kneel before Jesus Christ.
Everyone will say, “Jesus is Lord.” Some will praise him because they’ve done so all their lives. Others will praise him
in judgment to themselves because they’ve denied him all their lives.
Every professor who ridiculed you because of your faith will one day praise Jesus. Every friend who tried to convince
you to abandon your faith will praise him. Every entertainer who made a mockery of his name will praise him. Every
politician who opposed his ways will one day praise him.
The Bible describes it like this: “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above
every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every
tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11 NIV).
Everyone will one day bow before Jesus.
At that time God will also reward you for staying true to him despite the harassment and criticism you face for your
faith today.
Jesus said, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you
because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12 NIV).
Whenever you face persecution, you’re in the same category as Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Moses.
Just like those great prophets of old, you’ll one day experience an eternity with God, full of unimaginable joy. The
harassment, persecution, rejection, and ridicule you face now for Jesus’ sake won’t compare to the reward of
eternity with God.

Worshipping God Is First Step in Learning

“Start with God — the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their noses at such wisdom
and learning” (Proverbs 1:7 The Message).
How do you become a great student?
Worship God.
The Bible says it like this: “Start with God — the first step in learning is bowing down to God; only fools thumb their
noses at such wisdom and learning” (Proverbs 1:7 The Message).
The apostle Paul once told Timothy that the problem with many people was they knew a lot — but not what was
most important. In fact, Jesus told the religious leaders, “You have your heads in your Bibles constantly because you
think you'll find eternal life there. But you miss the forest for the trees. These Scriptures are all about
me! (John 5:39 The Message).
One day, after your life has ended, you’ll stand before God. It’ll be your final exam. It’ll be far more important than
any exam a teacher or professor gives you.
At that final exam, God won’t talk about how you did in math or social studies.
He’ll ask, “Did you know me?”
How will you answer?

If You’re Asked to Do the Impossible, Don’t Panic

“Get the facts at any price” (Proverbs 23:23a TLB).
Has someone ever asked you to do something you thought was impossible? Maybe a friend, a boss, or a parent
came to you and wanted you to do something that seemed too big for you.
You may be facing such a request right now. You’re wondering how in the world you’ll get started.
Over the next few devotionals, I’ll share with you what the Bible says about tackling the impossible.
But let’s begin by talking about where to start.
First, don’t panic.
Follow the pattern of Daniel. In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar went to his astrologers with a desperate need for
them to interpret a dream. When they couldn’t do it, he planned to execute them. Then he sent someone to get
Daniel.
The Bible says, “When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of
Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact” (Daniel 2:14NIV).
The most powerful man on the planet had ordered the assassination of Daniel — and his friends. When the king’s hit
man showed up to kill him, the 17-year-old handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. Not bad for a young,
teenage kid.
Daniel didn’t panic. Neither should we.
Instead of panicking, Daniel learned all the facts and sought to understand the motivation behind the king’s request.
The Bible says, “He asked the king’s officer, ‘Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the
matter to Daniel’” (Daniel 2:15 NIV).
When someone asks you to do the impossible, you need to understand why. You need all the facts.
The king was scared to death. When people are panicking, they get emotional. They start making illogical requests.
You need to understand why before moving ahead.
Proverbs 23:23a says it this way: “Get the facts at any price” (TLB).
So if you’re asked to do the impossible, don’t panic. Get all the facts.
We’ll look at other steps to take when you’re in this situation in the next few devotionals.

It’s More Important to Make the Right Decision Than a Fast Decision
“Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream
meant” (Daniel 2:16 NLT).
When you’re asked to do something that’s impossible, you start by refusing to panic and by asking why. Yesterday’s
devotional went over that.
But then you ask for more time.
Why? Your biggest temptation in the midst of crisis is to be impulsive. You’re typically not thinking rationally. You’re
thinking emotionally. You want to make a quick decision.
But it’s more important to make the right decision than a fast decision.
A wrong decision is wrong no matter how quickly you make it.
So step back, take a deep breath, calm down, and talk to God.
Daniel did this when the king asked him to interpret a dream (after ordering the killing of the first few people who
tried).
The Bible says, “Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream
meant” (Daniel 2:16 NLT).
I don’t know if I could have done this as a teenager. Daniel went immediately to this powerful king and asked for
more time.
Daniel didn’t procrastinate, but he didn’t make a rash decision either. He gives us a great model for dealing with a
high-pressure situation.

Ask Your Friends for Prayer Support

“Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He urged them
to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along
with the other wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:17-18 NLT)
God always tests you before he blesses you.
Sometimes his tests come through people who ask you to do something impossible — like a boss who wants you to
finish a project impossibly quickly.
In previous devotionals, I gave you the first few steps. You refuse to panic, you get more information, and you ask for
more time.
Next you enlist prayer support from your friends. Daniel did this after the king asked him to interpret a dream, a
request that had just about gotten others killed.
The Bible says, “Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. He
urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be
executed along with the other wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:17-18 NLT).
Daniel realized this was a big request. The kingdom hung in the balance. The king wasn’t thinking clearly. He was
about to kill everyone on his court. So Daniel got his prayer team going.
Do you, like Daniel, have prayer partners to depend upon when life gets tough?
The time to line up a prayer team isn’t when something bad happens. You need to have those partners lined up
before a crisis hits.
At some point, you’ll face tough times. You’ll be asked to do impossible tasks. Dark days will come.
What friends will you call on when you’re facing the impossible? You don’t need a lot of people. But you do need
four or five friends who will have your back when life gets out of hand.

Praise God No Matter What

“That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of
heaven” (Daniel 2:19 NLT).
Most of us don’t really know what to do when we’re confronted by an impossible situation. Did you know that a
teenage boy from thousands of years ago can help?
Over the past few devotionals, we’ve learned some incredible principles from how Daniel dealt with an impossible
request by the most powerful king of his time period. So far we’ve seen Daniel model these five actions.
1. Don’t panic, and then ask why.
2. Ask for more time.
3. Gather prayer partners.
4. Pray to God for help.
5. Ask God for supernatural help.
The next thing we learn from Daniel in Daniel 2 is to worship God.
It is important to understand that worship is much more than just music. There are thousands of ways to worship.
Anytime I turn my attention to God, that’s worship. When I express my love to God, that’s worship. You don’t have
to be in church to worship.
When you worship God, you move your focus off of your problem and onto God.
The Bible says of Daniel, “That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of
heaven” (Daniel 2:19 NLT).
The passage shows you how to worship God in the midst of a crisis. Specifically, Daniel did three things.
 He praised God for who he is. (v. 20)
 He honored God for what he does. (v. 21-22)
 He thanked God for his help. (v. 23)
That’s worship. Do that and you’ll move the focus off of you and your problems, and put it on God.
And he’s always where our focus should be.

Help Others with What God Has Taught You

“Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to
him, ‘Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream’” (Daniel 2:24 NLT).
When you’re faced with an impossibly big request, it’s easy to just give up. You figure that your boss should just find
someone else. You guess that your spouse just doesn’t get you. You suspect your teacher isn’t paying attention to
how many assignments he’s given you.
But what if God has more in mind? What if the Lord put you in the situation because he wants you to help someone
else?
You see this in the story of Daniel that we’ve been looking at over the last few days. We’ve seen Daniel provide a
great pattern for us to follow when we’ve been given an impossible task.
1. Don’t panic, and then ask why.
2. Ask for more time.
3. Gather prayer partners.
4. Pray to God for help.
5. Ask God for supernatural help.
6. Worship God.
Then Daniel used what the Lord had shown him to save others. God saved Daniel from the impossible task, but he
didn’t just do it for Daniel’s own good. He wanted Daniel to help others.
The Bible says, “Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon.
Daniel said to him, ‘Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his
dream’” (Daniel 2:24 NLT).
God gave Daniel the answer to the king’s dream, but Daniel wouldn’t tell the king without ensuring the safety of the
wise men — the Babylonian wise men!
God doesn’t want to just save you either. He wants to save everyone. He wants to save your family. He wants to save
your friends. But he also wants to save your competitors and your enemies. God cares about everyone.
And so should we.
That’s why you and I need to continue reaching out to people with the Good News about Jesus. God wants everyone
to know his purpose for their lives. He wants everyone to know him.
That’s your witness. That’s your mission in the world.

Give God the Credit, and Point People to Him

“There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. But there is a
God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I
will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed” (Daniel 2:27-28 NLT).
Over the last few days in these devotionals, I’ve shown you what Daniel did when facing an impossible situation in
Daniel 2. The king had asked him to interpret a tough dream. It almost got the king’s wise men killed because they
couldn’t explain what the dream meant.
The stakes were high! But Daniel followed a terrific process that can help us, too.
1. Don’t panic, and then ask why.
2. Ask for more time.
3. Gather prayer partners.
4. Pray to God for help.
5. Ask God for supernatural help.
6. Worship God.
7. Use what you’ve learned to save others.
And God showed up. Then Daniel used the opportunity to point others to God.
The Bible says Daniel told the king: “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal
the king’s secret. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will
happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed” (Daniel 2:27-28
NLT).
Daniel didn’t take credit for the amazing answer to the king’s dream. He knew God had given him the answer. So he
was honest about that.
I don’t know about you, but if I were a 17-year-old boy and I did something to make the king happy, I’d be tempted
to take a bit of the credit. Daniel did the praying. He did the listening. He did the obeying.

Couldn’t he take a bit of the credit?

He didn’t. Instead he pointed people to God.
Do that and God will bless you. God will do great things through a person who doesn’t care who gets the credit.
It’s a bold witness for Jesus. It’s what evangelism is all about.
God wants you to do that in every situation of your life — whether you’re in a coffee shop, in a meeting, or at home
parenting a 3-year-old.
God wants you to point others to him.
Read a bit further in Daniel 2 and you can see how this story turned out.
The Bible says the pagan king told Daniel: “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of
mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret” (Daniel 2:47 NLT).
How about that? A pagan leader acknowledged the true Creator of the universe.
When you spend your life pointing people to God, miracles happen.

God Walks Through the Fire with You

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep
over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2
NIV).
The heat is on.
No one likes that feeling. It happens when pressure gets tight, when deadlines get close, and when expectations get
intense.
Daniel had three friends who experienced the heat being on them — both figuratively and literally — in Daniel 3.
When Daniel’s friends wouldn’t bow in worship to a statue of King Nebuchadnezzar, the king angrily had his men
toss them into a fire and turn up the heat seven times hotter.
Literally, the heat was on.
But God walked with them through it.
The Bible says, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there
three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, Your Majesty.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four
men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods’” (Daniel 3:24-25
NIV).
Of course, you and I know it wasn’t “a son of the gods” in there with those guys. It was Jesus — the only Son of God.
He was walking through the fire with them.
And he’ll walk through the fire with you, too.
Jesus tells us, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20b NIV).
The Bible tells us you’ll never be alone. God will always be there with you and for you.
In Isaiah 43:2 God says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you
ablaze” (NIV).
Notice the Bible doesn’t say if you pass through the waters; it says when you pass through the waters.
You will have troubles. But Jesus will always walk with you through them.

Becoming More Like Jesus

“I have refined you but not in the way silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of
suffering” (Isaiah 48:10 NLT).
No one likes those times when stress gets turned up, deadlines mount, and expectations seem unreachable.
But sometimes God uses heat in your life to burn off the stuff that’s tying you down.
You just need to trust God through the pain.
What’s got you tied up? What’s limiting you from being all God meant for you to be?
God can use the trials in your life to eliminate what’s holding you back.
God says in Isaiah 48:10, “I have refined you but not in the way silver is refined. Rather, I have refined you in the
furnace of suffering” (NLT).
It’s highly unlikely you’ll literally go through a fiery furnace in your life, but you’ll go through the furnace of suffering
many, many times. God will refine you with that fire.
It’s like silver and gold. When they heat it up, they get rid of impurities. Then you’re left with 100 percent gold or 100
percent silver.
If you ask a silversmith how to know when silver is pure, he’ll tell you it happens when you can see your reflection
while looking into the cauldron.
God knows you’re purified when he can see his own reflection in you. You look more Christlike.
It’s the fire that does that.

God Can Use Your Trials to Set You Free

“You let captors set foot on our neck; then we went through fire and water and you led us out to freedom” (Psalm
66:12 NAB).
You’ll face trials in life, no doubt about it.
But God will use them to free you.
In fact, sometimes what others expect will enslave you, God uses to liberate you. He’ll use them to set you free from
the expectations and opinions of others.
The Bible says it like this: “You let captors set foot on our neck; then we went through fire and water and you led us
out to freedom” (Psalm 66:12 NAB).
God wants you to be free. The Bible says the truth will set you free. But truth often comes with a high cost.
Four years ago my youngest son died. You might have heard the story. He had struggled with mental health his
entire life. He had a troubled mind but a tender heart.
The day he took his life was the worst day of my life. I’ll never forget it.
But to make matters worse, Satan tried to take advantage of it. Critics came out in full force, saying horrible things
about my family. You’d see them on TV, in magazines, and on blogs. They celebrated and laughed at his death. It was
brutal, public, and constant. I thought I was going through Hell itself.
But God walked with me every step of the way. During this time, someone asked me how I was doing and I
responded, “Honestly, I feel fearless.”
I wasn’t afraid. All I kept thinking was, “Satan, is that all you can throw at me? Are those critics the best you have?”
I’m not afraid of anything anymore. I’m living for an audience of one. Sometimes God uses tough times to wean you
off an addiction to other people’s approval. You just don’t need it to be happy.

God Brings New Life Out of the Fire

“Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They
trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship
any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28NIV).
When you trust God in spite of suffering, you’ll point unbelievers to him.
How you handle pain is a great witness to the world.
Frankly, you and I aren’t much of a witness when life is good. Anyone can serve God during those times.
But tough times are a different story.
Remember the story of Daniel’s friends being tossed into the fire? They trusted God, and he rescued them in a
miraculous manner.
These guys impressed the king with their faith. And the king was the most powerful emperor of that age.
The king said, “Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his
servants! They trusted in him and defied the king’s command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve
or worship any god except their own God”(Daniel 3:28 NIV).
King Nebuchadnezzar recognized that these guys were willing to defy his order and risk death because they trusted
God.
What are you willing to die for?
If you don’t know what you’re willing to die for, you’ll never truly live. You’ll only exist.
Did you know that some trees only sprout after a forest fire? The jack pine tree of North America is like that. The
seeds are in the cones so tightly that they won’t come out unless intense heat comes along. It’ll melt the resin, then
the seed drops, and then it germinates.
Without heat, it wouldn’t happen.
The same is true with us.
Sometimes God brings new life to others because we trusted him through the fire.

Don’t Let Success Ruin You

“Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised” (Proverbs 27:21 NLT).
God tests us with success.
Does that sound strange? You might have an easier time believing that God tests you with stress or suffering.
But think about it.
You’ve seen success ruin people. The young rock star gets everything she has ever wanted and then crashes and
burns. The athlete signs a big contract and then parties away his future. A business grows bigger than anyone
expected, and the owner becomes reckless with expansion plans.
We’ve read the stories.
As a pastor for more than 40 years, I can tell you that more people have been ruined by success than by suffering.
Suffering tends to push people toward God. But when people are successful, they often forget about God.
For every person who can handle pain, you’ll find very few who can handle fame. The praise goes to their head, and
it destroys them.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 27:21, “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being
praised” (NLT).
In reality, every compliment is a test. Compliments and criticisms are a bit like chewing gum. You can chew on them
awhile, but don’t swallow them. Both of them can really mess you up.
It’s so easy to forget God when success comes your way. But if you remember that your success comes from God,
you will pass the success test every time.

Pride: No One is Exempt From Temptation

“The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished” (Proverbs 16:5 NLT).
When it comes to pride, none of us is exempt from temptation.
For instance, success is one of the most important tests God gives us before he increases our responsibility, and if we
become prideful, then we haven’t passed the test.
The Bible tells the story of one man who utterly failed this test: the Babylonian king of Daniel’s day, Nebuchadnezzar.
By the time this pagan king was in his 50s, he was one of the most powerful men in the world.
But Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, and he needed Daniel to interpret it. As he recalled sharing the dream with
Daniel, he said: “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home taking it easy in my palace, without a care in the world” (Daniel 4:4
The Message).
That’s a great picture of what success does to us. Nebuchadnezzar didn’t sound like someone who was pursuing
God. He sounded like someone who’s resting on all he had been given. He wasn’t using all of his success to make
much of God. He was thinking about himself.
Check out the personal pronouns in another statement by Nebuchadnezzar. “Look at this great city of Babylon! By
my own mighty power, I have built this beautiful city as my royal residence to display my majestic splendor” (Daniel
4:30b NLT).
Four times in one verse he used first-person language. Nebuchadnezzar was thinking of himself. He wasn’t being
humble.
Pride is the root of all sin, no matter what the sin is. It got Satan kicked out of Heaven. God hates pride because it
declares, “I’m God, and I don’t need God.”
The Bible says pride goes before destruction. If you keep reading about Nebuchadnezzar, you realize he was setting
himself up for a major fall.
God’s Word tells us, “The Lord detests the proud; they will surely be punished” (Proverbs 16:5 NLT).
Pride puts you on the opposite side of God. But God is always for you, not against you, and he wants to help you
pass the test of success.

Pride: Don’t Miss the Warning Signs

“So then, Your Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what is right, and be merciful to the poor. Then you will
continue to be prosperous” (Daniel 4:27 GNT).
Too often when life is going well, we miss the warning signs of an impending fall.
Pride blinds us. So does the spotlight.
It’s why I tell people who’ve seen some success in life that they need to go home and change some diapers, mow
their own lawns, and wash their own dishes. When you have some success, make sure you keep in touch with your
roots so you don’t miss the warning signs of a fall.
Nebuchadnezzar’s life is a clear picture of this. God cared enough about this pagan king to warn him about what was
coming his way in Daniel 4. The Lord didn’t just remove him from power. God gave him a dream, he brought Daniel
to interpret the dream, and Daniel told Nebuchadnezzar what was going to happen and how to avoid it. Read it for
yourself. You can’t get much clearer.
Daniel told the king, “So then, Your Majesty, follow my advice. Stop sinning, do what is right, and be merciful to the
poor. Then you will continue to be prosperous” (Daniel 4:27 GNT).
Daniel gave him three steps: Stop sinning, do what’s right, and be merciful to the poor. Success would follow.
But the king missed the sign.
Is it possible you are missing one, too?
It could be conflict in a relationship. You’re just passing it off as the other person’s problem, but God wants to show
you that you’re off track in some area of your life.
It could be a temptation you’re battling against because you’re continually putting yourself in a bad situation.
Maybe it’s chaos and confusion in your life. Both are signs you’re not well-connected to God. You’re trying to do life
on your own terms.
And God’s trying to tell you through these warning signs: “Halt! Stop sinning! Come back to me!”
If you’re heading down the wrong path, God will warn you because he loves you too much to not give you a warning.

Humility Is a Choice
“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor” (1 Peter
5:6 NLT).
When you’re successful, it’s much easier to fall hard than it is to maintain your success. We tend to get proud and
forget about God, and success crumbles when we do that.
If you’ve found yourself in that situation, the first step to take is absolutely critical.
The Bible says, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will
come to you”(Revelation 2:5a NIV).
If you’re getting proud, you must repent. That means you change your mind. You go from thinking one way about
your life to thinking another way.
Why repent? Humility is a choice. We’re never told in Scripture to pray for God to make us humble. It’s something
you choose for yourself.
The Bible says, “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in
honor” (1 Peter 5:6 NLT).
Humility is a choice.
Here’s the difference between pride and humility. Pride is when I accept the credit for things that God and other
people did through me and for me. Humility doesn’t mean thinking of yourself less. It means thinking of others and
God more.
If you have experienced some success and are beginning to get prideful, then repent — today! Change your
perspective about who you are and where your success comes from.
The Bible says, “For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be
exalted” (Matthew 23:12 NIV).

Successful People Help the Poor

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge
fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (Proverbs 31:8-9 NIV).
If you want to live a successful life, the Bible offers some countercultural instruction.
Serve the poor!
How could serving the poor help us be successful?
The Bible gives us numerous reasons why this is so, but here are just a few of them:
 It’ll make you happy. “If you want to be happy, be kind to the poor; it is a sin to despise
anyone” (Proverbs 14:21 GNT).
 You’ll honor God. “Whoever mistreats the poor insults their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors
God” (Proverbs 14:31 NCV).
 It’ll make you a better leader. “Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated
fairly” (Proverbs 29:14 The Message).
I’ve seen this in my own life. Some of you know my story. When I wrote The Purpose Driven Life, the book became a
huge global success. It’s been translated into 137 languages.
And when you write a book with the first line of “It’s not about you,” it’s pretty easy to realize that any money or
influence that came from it wasn’t meant for me. So, among other decisions Kay and I made at the time, we started
Acts of Mercy, a foundation to help the poor and the vulnerable suffering with AIDS.
The book’s success was not about me; it was all about God.
Proverbs 31:8-9 particularly spoke to me during this time: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for
the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (NIV).
That’s what successful people do. They stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.

A Journey of Lifelong Learning Starts with This Choice

“Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:12 NLT).
Your journey of lifelong learning starts with a choice. It’s a choice only you can make. It’s an incredibly important
decision that’ll impact your entire life.
The Bible says, “Commit yourself to instruction; listen carefully to words of knowledge” (Proverbs 23:12 NLT).
I made this commitment to keep learning when I was 15 years old. I began saying that I would learn as much as I
could. For many years I read at least a book a day. I started collecting books as a teenager, and I have more than
35,000 volumes in my library now. Books open the door to every subject imaginable.
Your education doesn’t stop when you graduate. I’ve actually heard people say, “I’m glad I’ve finished my education
so now I can start my career.” Tell that one to God, and he’ll laugh. God has so much more he wants to teach you!
Your education should never end.
Learning isn’t a stage of life; it is your life! God wants you to learn something new every day. So don’t stop — ever!
Start working on learning a new skill this year. God wants you to grow. You should be and can be different — better
— a year from now than you are today.
It’s in your best interest to do so. Lifelong learning will make you a better leader, a better parent, a better spouse, a
better friend. It’ll make you more effective in your job. It brings both success and profit.
The Bible says, “If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring
success” (Ecclesiastes 10:10 NIV).
If you’ve got an ax with a dull blade and you’re chopping wood, it’ll take a lot more energy to do it. If your ax is sharp
(which represents skill in this verse), then it doesn’t take as much effort.
The Bible is saying to work smarter, not harder. You’re never wasting time when you’re sharpening your ax.

Four Types of People You Need in Your Life

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm” (Proverbs 13:20 NIV).
You and I can never be the kind of people God wants us to be on our own. We were never intended to be. We all
need people who are teaching us, sharing their lives with us, investing in us, and encouraging us to grow.
The Bible tells us, “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers
harm” (Proverbs 13:20 NIV).
In fact, to be all that God calls you to be, you need to learn from at least four different kinds of people.
 1. Mentors – These are your coaches. I’ve had nine different mentors in my life. No one can teach you
everything you need to know. One person will teach you in one area. Another person will teach you about
something else.
2. Role models – These are people who are already doing or have already done what you want to do. Many of
the skills you’ve learned in your life, you’ve learned by watching others.
3. Partners – You need co-workers and colleagues who are in your profession, people to support and challenge
you on what God wants to do through your life.
4. Friends – Friends don’t necessarily help you with your goals. They’re just friends. They love you no matter
what you do. You can mess up, and they still love you. A friend walks into your life when everyone else walks
out. That’s when you know who your friends are.
Trying to live life solo isn’t just lonely. It works against God’s design for us.

Be Humble or You’ll Stumble

“Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living — first you learn humility, then you experience glory” (Proverbs 15:33 The
Message).
Wise people remain humble. Humility and teachability go together. Be humble or you’ll stumble.
Humility begins by simply realizing you’re not God. Whenever you get stressed, repeat this to yourself: “God is God,
and I’m not. God is God, and I’m not. God is God, and I’m not.”
That’s humility. If you don’t realize that you’re not God, you’re not a humble person.
The Bible says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6b HCSB).
Do you have a goal of becoming a wiser person?
Get to know God. You’ll be wiser in building relationships, managing money, handling conflict, diffusing problems,
and dealing with all kinds of other challenges in life.
The Bible tells us, “Fear-of-God is a school in skilled living — first you learn humility, then you experience
glory” (Proverbs 15:33 The Message).
Humility says you can learn from anyone. You don’t know it all. No one does. That’s why we need to remain
teachable, humble, lifelong learners.

Feed Your Mind with God’s Word

“I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling
to me” (Psalm 101:3 ESV).
You’ll hear a lot of concern these days about water pollution and air pollution. And those concerns are important.
But there may be a more important pollution in our lives: mind pollution.
The Bible tells us that what we feed our minds is just as important as what we feed our bodies.
Psalm 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it
shall not cling to me” (ESV).
When feeding your mind, you must choose from four kinds of content.
1. Poison - These are the concepts that will derange, degrade, or demoralize you. For instance, pornography
will do that.
2. Junk food - Most of the stuff on television is the mental equivalent of junk food. You’ll find little to no
nutritional value in it. You can eat junk food, but you’re not going to get very wise.
3. Brain food - This is the “good stuff.” It educates you in areas like math, history, English, and geography. You
need to fill your mind with brain food. It’ll make you a well-rounded person.
4. Super food - This is the Bible. God’s Word will teach you what you won’t find anywhere else. It answers
fundamental questions like, “Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? Does my life matter? Is
there a purpose to my life? Is there meaning? Am I significant?” You’ll only get answers to those questions in
the Bible. We need to feast on God’s Word daily.
Unfortunately, many of us fill up our brains with junk food, and we leave ourselves little time for reading the Bible. If
you watch six to eight hours of television a day, you’ll have no time for God’s Word. Worse yet, you won’t even be
hungry for God’s Word.
Let’s cut out the junk food, and learn to feast on the Bible.
That’s how we become wise.

There’s a Difference Between Knowing and Learning

“You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself” (Daniel 5:22 NLT).
God won’t teach you something new until you’ve put into practice what he’s already taught you.
God isn’t in the business of simply satisfying your curiosity. He tells you something and waits for you to act on it.
Once you act on it, then you get to go to the next step.
You see, God wants you to apply the truth you’ve learned.
And you haven’t learned something until you’ve done it.
It’s not enough for you to tell people you believe the Bible. You must do what the Bible teaches.
If you don’t do what the Bible teaches, you don’t really believe it.
That’s what we see in the story of Belshazzar in the book of Daniel. He lost everything because he didn’t put into
practice what he’d already learned.
He pridefully refused to learn the lessons that God had taught his grandfather. His empire fell because of that.
The Bible records Daniel telling him, “You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not
humbled yourself” (Daniel 5:22 NLT).
Belshazzar saw Nebuchadnezzar literally lose his mind for about seven years because of pride. He saw all the
mistakes his grandfather made. He saw his grandfather come back and correct those things. He saw the good and
the bad in Nebuchadnezzar’s life, and he chose to ignore God. Belshazzar chose to ignore the lessons.
So God took away his kingdom.
Belshazzar knew, but he didn’t learn. We need to understand the difference between knowing and learning. You can
know a lot of things, but if you don’t act on them, you haven’t learned anything. God wants us to be doers of the
Word, and that means he will support us as we step forward in faith, applying the things he’s taught us to do.

Moving from What We Know About God to What We Trust About God
“Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life — they don’t know God” (1 Timothy 6:21a
TLB).
There are 18 inches between your head and heart. But, unfortunately, some people will miss Heaven by those 18
inches. They know God in their heads but not in their hearts. They intellectually believe the Gospel, but they’ve
never let it change their hearts.
I went to school a long time, a total of 24 years to get my master’s and doctorate degrees. Honestly, I’ve forgotten
much of what I learned during that time.
But I’ve never forgotten the most important truth I’ve ever learned. We were made by God. We were made for God.
Until we understand that, life will never make sense.
You were not made for your own sake.
The Bible says, “Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life — they don’t know God” (1
Timothy 6:21a TLB).
You might know string theory. You might know chaos theory. You might know quantum physics. But if you don’t
know God, you’ve missed the purpose of your life.
At the end of your life, God will give you a final test. Here’s the good news. It’ll be an open-book exam. All the
answers are in the Bible.
On that test, God won’t ask you if you got straight A’s. He won’t care how well you did in your career. He won’t ask
to see your bank account balance.
Instead, he’ll ask you this: Did you get to know me? Did you build a relationship with my Son who I sent to Earth to
die on the cross for you?
For more about how to get ready for that day, visit pastorrick.com/know-god.

Fear Grows When We Refuse to Do What God Wants Us to Do

“Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message with all
boldness” (Acts 4:29GNT).
We all have fears. Too often, though, we’ve let them rule over our lives and stop us from taking a stand for what we
know God wants us to do.
Like Daniel standing in the lion’s den, we face people and situations that threaten to destroy us — and our witness
for Christ. But the choice is ours.
Will we succumb to our fears or will we stand up for God in spite of those fears?
If you want to overcome fear that’s dragging you down, you need to clearly understand the benefits of choosing to
stand up for what God wants.
Most importantly, you need to see that doing what God wants you to do is a clear victory over the fear in your life.
Because fear grows. Every time you give in to a fear, it becomes more intense.
Fear grows every time you refuse to do what God wants you to do. Eventually, you’ll feel cornered.
And when fear grows, your life shrinks.
So what do you do?
Follow the lead of early Christians. We’re certainly not the first generation of Christians to face fear. Early believers
faced all kinds of persecution. The book of Acts shows us a bit about how they stood up to this fear. As Peter and
John proclaimed Jesus boldly in Acts 4, they came up against fierce opposition.
So they prayed, “Lord, take notice of the threats they have made, and allow us, your servants, to speak your message
with all boldness” (Acts 4:29 GNT).
The answer to your fear isn’t to give in to it. It’s to move forward boldly despite it. You stand up to the fear. Fear
doesn’t respond to logic, so your only chance to get rid of the fear is to trust God and face the fear.
Never, ever forget this. God won’t part the Jordan River in front of you until you take your first step (see how God did
this for Elijah and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:8). You take a step of faith and then God shows you the path. That won’t happen
if you stand wrapped up in your fear.
Take a step in faith today and watch fear crumble in the process as God guides your steps.

How Your Courage and Character Grow

“Never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord . . . With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me
for the sake of the Good News” (2 Timothy 1:8 NLT).
Standing up for God when you’re afraid isn’t just the right thing to do.
It also builds your faith and your character.
Reputation is what you want people to think you are. Character is what you really are. Character is who you are
when no one is watching.
Character and faith are like muscles. The only way you build a muscle is by stressing it. That’s what we do in
weightlifting. When you lift weights, you’re straining your muscle, you’re stretching your muscle, and you’re
stressing your muscle. Your muscle doesn’t grow unless it’s strained, stretched, and stressed.
The same is true with your “courage muscle.”
You’re not developing any spiritual, emotional, or relational muscle when you give in to fear instead of standing up
to it. When you play it safe, and let fear win, you lose the courage to follow God’s will for your life.
When you stand strong for what God wants instead of buckling to fear, your courage grows.
Courage isn’t the absence of fear; it’s moving forward with what God wants anyway.
The Bible says, “Never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord . . . With the strength God gives you, be ready to
suffer with me for the sake of the Good News” (2 Timothy 1:8 NLT).
What are you willing to do in order to be true to your faith? Are you willing to be teased? Are you willing to have
someone look at you funny? Are you willing to have people gossip about you?
Historically, Christians have gone before lions and been crucified for their faith in Christ. Even today, people are
being martyred for their faith. It’s much more common than you may realize.
Stand up for God. When you overcome your fears, your character grows, and your faith does too.

Are You Ready for Your Miracle?

“Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have
been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty” (Daniel 6:21-22 NLT).
Have you ever seen a miracle in your life?
Many Christians haven’t seen a miracle because they’ve never given God the opportunity to do one. They’ve played
it safe their whole lives.
Want God to show you a miracle? Take a risk.
Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb; that’s where the fruit is.
If you don’t tackle any big problems in your life, you don’t know that God can solve them. God shows up when you
reach the end of your rope. If you never do anything that can’t be explained away by your own power, then you’ve
never really trusted God.
Most people go through life defining their existence by what they think they can do. You are capable of so much
more—through God’s power
Daniel from the Bible is a great example of this principle. He saw miracles because he wasn’t afraid to take risks.
In Daniel 6, when the king decreed that no one could worship a god other than him, Daniel defied the order —
publicly. He then took a risk by purposely praying to God three times a day in front of an open window. The king
tossed him into a den of lions for this offense.
God provided a miracle because Daniel stepped out in faith. People generally don’t survive a night in a den with
hungry lions.
But after his night in the lion’s den, Daniel had a royal visitor — and to the king’s utter surprise, Daniel wasn’t dead.
He told the king: “Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me,
for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty” (Daniel 6:21-22 NLT).
The king then gave orders to lift Daniel out of the pit.
That’s a miracle. But it’s one that would have never happened if Daniel hadn’t shown the courage to defy the king’s
ungodly order.
The more risks you take and the more problems you tackle, the more miracles you’ll see God perform. Trust God,
and walk out on that limb.

Your Courage Will Motivate Other Believers

“Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the
message fearlessly” (Philippians 1:14 HCSB).
God wants you to have courage and stand up for his ways when everyone else sits down. But it’s not just for your
own good.
It’s for the good of others, too.
When you stand up publicly for what God wants, you’ll encourage other believers. When you stand up for God, other
people will follow.
Courage is contagious. You never know how many people will join you until you courageously step out in faith.
Most people are waiting for a leader to show some courage. They’re waiting for someone like you to demonstrate
some faith.
Paul writes about this in Philippians 1:14: “Most of the brothers in the Lord have gained confidence from my
imprisonment and dare even more to speak the message fearlessly”(HCSB).
Paul’s imprisonment for the Gospel led to others demonstrating more boldness.
God will use your courage, too, to help others respond with courage.