THE HANDLING OF A CRISIS Devotion 1 of 28 Surely you are familiar with being in a crisis. Perhaps even now, you are confronting a challenging situation that is testing both your thinking and your strength. The Scriptures refer to such times as tests or trials trials that ultimately come from the Lord (Psa 17:3; 66:10; 105:19; Jer 12:3; Zech 13:9; Heb 11:17; 1 Pet 4:12). From the New Covenant point of view, it is the FAITH of an individual that being tried "the trying of your faith" (James 1:3). The purpose of such trial is that your faith "might be found unto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet 1:7). -- Tomorrow:
"And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." (Daniel 2:13-18)
How does faith genuine faith respond to crisis? How does it handle disruption, challenge, and even threats? When human wisdom comes to an end, and natural strength is dissipated, what does faith do? That is what this series of devotions is about the response of faith to crisis. It does not manage the crisis, but the person who is in the crisis.
In order to confirm the nature of faith, I will focus on Daniel and his three colleagues Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They are young men captives in a strange land, and without any apparent advantage. However, faith is not put to a disadvantage by unwilling surroundings, nor is it intimidated by the threats of an earthly dignitary. You will find this incident to be a most excellent example of how to handle to crisis.
God had set the stage for the unveiling of Daniel, the young man chosen by God to reveal Divine determinations to the sons of men. These preparations did not involve Daniel sitting at the feet of a renown Hebrew scholar. Although Daniel had been initially raised under the tutelage of the Law and the Prophets, his immediate formal education was at the feet of heathen Babylonians. In his conventional training, he was not taught the Law of God, but the language and literature of the Chaldeans (Dan 1:4-5). His preparations were not accomplished in the Temple of God, but in a Babylonian school for captive eunuchs, under the authority of a Babylonian prince and one of his special subordinates.
He was living during a period of fierce and unparalleled Divine chastening the seventy-year Babylonian captivity. So far as Judah was concerning, the revealed religion given to Daniel's people had been held in disdain. The commandment of God had been disobeyed, thus incurring His indignation. The house of God, once filled with the glory of God, had been destroyed. The city of God, where He had chosen to place His name, had been devastated. The nation that once came out of mighty Egypt with great spoil, had themselves become the spoil of another heathen nation Babylon.
While peaceful environs are to be preferred for the culturing of the soul and preparation for Divine employment (James 3:18), they are not the exclusive realm for training. By no means does this suggest men are to willingly seek heathen surroundings to prepare for Divine employment. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, did not choose to go to Babylon, they were carried there as captives. No man or woman of faith has ever preferred to ready themselves for the service of God in a domain that gives neither honor nor glory to Him.
The surroundings in which the four children of Judah were cultured for Divine use are not intended to be the kingdom standard. This is not the manner in which Isaiah, Jeremiah, or John the Baptist were prepared for Divine service. Nor, indeed. Did Jesus use this manner to equip His Apostles to carry the Gospel to the whole world. However, in Daniel and his friends, we will see that faith is equal to evil and challenging surroundings that are forced upon us. Actually, these four young men were caught in the wake of the sins of their fathers like the children of the disobedient Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for forty years (Num 14:33l Deut 1:39). This is a most vivid depiction of CRISIS.
I am distinguishing such trials from chastening, which is the consequence of our own doing. As it is written, "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world" (1 Cor 11:31-32). That is the sense in which I will approach "crisis" a time when you are put to the test, not because you have failed to please the Lord, but because your faith is being tried for God's glory and your ultimate betterment. We will see how faith responds to such tests.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for trying my faith in order that it might come forth as pure gold.