ESOCS Devotional 31 July 2024 – When Faced With An Impossible Situation
MEMORY VERSE: “And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”Luke 4:6 KJV
TEXT: LUKE 4:1-9
hen Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.
3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”
4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ ”
5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”
8 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”
9 Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional here
The book of Daniel teaches us how to live faithfully for Christ in a world that is not our home. The book also shows us that God is sovereign and in control, even when our world is falling apart. God is never surprised when things do not go according to our plans. He is still in control in this turbulent and unpredictable world. God’s gift to Daniel of interpreting dreams soon became extremely important as he soon faced an impossible situation.
Nebuchadnezzar probably recognized that his dream was important. The ancient Babylonians believed that dreams were messages from their gods; thus, understanding a dream correctly was crucial for their future. Nebuchadnezzar feared that his strange dream contained an ominous message for him and he needed to find out what that message was. However, Nebuchadnezzar made a critical mistake of asking the wrong people for help.
Unfortunately, Nebuchadnezzar did not ask for the best help he had. If you recall, he had just found in the previous chapter that Daniel and his three friends were the brightest of all his wise men (Daniel 1:19–20).
Nebuchadnezzar felt that the wise men were stalling for time (which they probably were) because they saw that he was serious about executing them if they did not interpret the dream immediately. If they could not reveal his dream to him, then, he could not trust their interpretation. Either way, this was an impossible demand.
The king’s magicians, enchanters and sorcerers at least told Nebuchadnezzar the truth. No one could fulfil the king’s request. To be fair, even the wisest person could not reveal the dreams of another person and give its interpretation without at least hearing it.
Therefore, the king, in a violent and unreasonable rage, and being a man true to his word, commanded that all of his wise men be executed. I do not know what Nebuchadnezzar expected to accomplish by killing all of his wise men. That would have left him with no wise counsel. This included Daniel and his friends, which was quite unfair for them, as they were not summoned to the king and they were not a part of the discussions with the king. Fortunately for Daniel, he also knew to whom he should go when he faced an impossible situation. Daniel knew to whom he should go when he was unable to do the impossible. With remarkable faith, again, Daniel requested an appointment with the king to reveal the dream and its interpretation even before God had revealed the dream to him.
In conclusion, this passage encourages us to remain faithful to God in difficult circumstances. This passage encourages us to seek God in those impossible situations. When we face those situations, we should turn to the one who has all the answers and is an ever-present help. This passage encourages us to place our hope in Jesus and not in a nation, an earthly king, or in anyone else.
- Have you created an impossible situation because you refused to seek wise, godly counsel?
- Heavenly Father, in thy grace, teach us to live faithfully for Christ in an unholy world.
Further Reading: Deuteronomy 26:12-end; Luke 4:10-26; Acts 13:1-12
ESOCS Devotional 31 July 2024
