Ten Lessons From the Book of Daniel
(Conclusion)
When our oldest son was born with serious birth defects, God dealt with both Susan and me in a brand new way. Susan said she will never forget lying in the recovery room and realizing all the things her boy would never get to do, unless God miraculously healed him. She said it brought home the importance of a lesson she and I had both been trying to learn. Whenever anything upsetting comes along we ask ourselves a question. We had been doing this before Paul’s birth, but it became a really important question when Paul was born. Every time we face a decision or go through difficulty or have an argument, we try to remember to ask this question: What difference will it make a hundred and fifty years from now?
Ask yourself, “What difference will it make a hundred and fifty years from now?” It makes it a lot easier to end an argument. Will it matter in a hundred and fifty years which one got their way in the matter at hand? Who cares? It’s not a big deal. The only things that matter are the things of eternal importance. We want to live life in view of eternity.
How will we live well in Babylon? How will we prosper if our government collapses, if our national pride is a joke, when the articles from the treasury of the temple of our Lord God are carried off and put in the treasury of pagan gods? How do we prosper in this kind of environment? When there’s enormous pressure not just to do things in order to be socially acceptable, but when the temptation can seem a matter of life or death, what should we do?
One: When in doubt, don’t.
Two: When God blesses you, give Him all the glory, and be kind to your enemies.
Three: When you are not afraid to die, decisions become easier, and you don’t have to compromise with sin.
Four: No matter how successful you become, give all the glory to God.
Five: There is a line a person can cross where it’s too late to turn back. Stay far from it.
Six: No matter the cost, trust and obey.
Seven: God has already determined the future, so we don’t need to fear future events.
Eight: Even when God tells us more than we want to know, His Word is still true.
Nine: Don’t just confess the sins of others; confess your own sins and pray for mercy.
Ten: Always remember, there’s a lot more going on than we can see.
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