Daniel in Lions Den

#55 The Work of Faith to Believe

Posted: Thursday, March 18th, 2021
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About Rule and Reign Like Daniel Series

Daniel believed in God as Ruler, so he brought Heaven’s Rule into his earthly government and heathen captors. Do you rule and reign like Daniel did?

Devotional

Faith is two things: a work and a gift.

First, the work of faith. Humanly, we will achieve rather than believe. We strive externally instead of working internally. We are people of the visible and we avoid the secret work.

In John 6:22, Jesus fed the 5000 (in Tiberias) and the people were astounded. Jesus knew they wanted to “seize Him and make Him king.” So He went away to the mountain by Himself. The crowd pursued Him with great enthusiasm. They found Him in Capernaum.

But Jesus exposed their motive: “You are seeking Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” The people wanted to use Jesus for their own needs. Their basic need? Food.

Wanting God to be my servant and meet my needs so I can have ease and fullness, this is merely human. But the goal of mere personal fulfillment leads to ultimate emptiness and hunger that cannot be satisfied. We were created to please God. He does not exist to be used by us for selfish ends.

The Lord would be received – not ruled.

When times are hard, we want God for sheer survival, but that is to make Him my servant, instead of my being His servant. And Jesus patiently wanted to move the people to the eternal first. In that realm, all is provided – including bread.

Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life…
John 6:27 ESV

Other Devotionals in Rule and Reign Like Daniel Series

#110 For the Sake of the Kingdom #109 God Alone Reigns Over All #108 The Most High Lives Forever #107 The King Was Transformed #106 The Right Use of My Mind #105 Pride Dissolves in Healing Solitude #104 Until You Learn Who Is God #103 Sudden Judgment Is Never Without Warning #102 God's Warning Is Not Empty #101 Here Stand Two Men Before Heaven #100 Sovereign Rule Over the Lowliest of Men #99 We Are ALL Without Excuse #98 A Position Holy and Unapproachable #97 To Recognize God as THE ONLY #96 Flourishing in Conquered Kingdoms #95 Stolen Glory Used to Glorify Self #94 A Testimony for Nebuchadnezzar #93 Conscripted in the Service of Babylon #92 Christ's Life Is Untouchable by Death #91 The Loosing of Bonds Comes Out of the Fire #90 All of Life Is a Contest of Power #89 We Are Forged by Earlier Fires #88 The Cross Was the Furnace of Christ #87 Christ Himself Walks My Walk #86 Loose and Walking, Not Hurt! #85 The Presence of God with You #84 Seeing the Fourth Man in the Fire #83 Our Endless Struggle: Is God GOD? #82 The Wisdom of God is to be Our Constant Source #81 In Surrender, We Will LET God #80 Let Be and Know That He IS God #79 Only ONE Reigns in All Power #78 Reverence and Fear of God #77 Human Beings Are Born Worshipers #76 Dying is the Only Way #75 The Test of Worship Will Come #74 They Needed Only to Know HIM #73 The Great Surrender of "But if not…" #72 God Chooses and His Servant Trusts #71 Finding Your Own Closet Meeting #70 Actual Life and Literal Death #69 We Have No Need to Answer #68 They Would Not Bow to the Tyrant #67 Being Made Ready for the Furnace of Fire #66 The Fiery Test of Love that Comes #65 Find Your Place Like Daniel #64 Everything Can Reveal Christ to Us #63 To Know God is to Behold Him #62 Israel Was Warned of Captivity #61 Daniel is THE Relevant Figure for Last Days #60 Faith in the One Source of All Need #59 We Are All Just Hungry Sheep #58 There is But One Work, Not Many #57 Food Everlasting as a Gift from God #56 Our Daily Bread is Spiritual, Too
#55 The Work of Faith to Believe (Currently Viewing)
#54 Do We Lack the Most Basic Faith? #53 Any Crisis is Solved by Faith #52 A Deep and Gnawing Hunger #51 His Righteous One is Me and You #50 The Need in All Things is Faith #49 Daniel Believed and THAT is Our Work #48 Stability in God Comes from Need #47 The Immovable Rock in a Shaking World #46 A Life Founded on the Amazing Rock #45 Daniel's Solid Rock of Habitation #44 Our Secret Foundation Exposed #43 The Stone is Our Foundation #42 Christ, the Precious Cornerstone #41 The Dynamic and Explosive Power of the Rock #40 My Rock and My Salvation Always #39 Precious Cornerstone of Sure Foundation #38 The Foundation Stone in Zion #37 The Stone That Filled the Earth #36 The Fate of the Angel of Light #35 God in Heaven is Sovereign over All #34 To Be Eligible for Heavenly Access #33 Ready to Be an Instrument of Heaven? #32 Just How Great IS God's Rule? #31 Mystery Was Revealed to Daniel #30 Provoking Our Desire to Live #29 When Evil Rules, the Church Rises #28 Faithful in Small Things First #27 Celebrating Individuality in the Body of Christ #26 The First Crisis of Daniel is Ours, Too #25 Through Faith They Conquered #24 The Absolute YES Comes with NO #23 The Just Shall Live by Faith #22 Daniel is an End Times Book #21 Called to Be Alone With God #20 Daniel Looked to God Alone #19 Identity is Crucial to Live for God #18 Daniel: God Is My Judge #17 Uniqueness Comes from God #16 The Choice to Remain God's #15 God Will Reveal Himself Through Us #14 Daniel Was a Royal Son #13 Defend Your Identity Like Daniel #12 Story of Daniel, Not Belteshazzar #11 We Can Flourish Under Pressure #10 Blind to the Crisis of Idolatry #9 Given What They Chose: Babylon #8 The Capture of Israel and Loss of Identity #7 Identity is Everything and We Must Know It #6 Our Identity is Found in God #5 Nebuchadnezzar at God's Hand #4 The Almighty Reigns in the Government of God #3 Daniel's Government Was Out of Heaven #2 Living Above the Fray in Heaven's Rule #1 The Rule of Heaven is a Different Government
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