“Just As He Had Done Before”
Special Gratitude Edition
Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Whatever your Thanksgiving Day looks like, I hope you’ll carve out some time to rest in God’s goodness and thank Him for all that He’s done for you. May this season be the beginning of a new awareness of the countless blessings He’s poured into your life. Practice seeking them out. I promise - you’ll find what you’re looking for.
I also want to thank the many friends who were kind enough to share photos, stories, and gratitude lists over the past month. Thanksgiving is multiplied exponentially when shared with others, and God is exalted all the more! Grateful to Him for you!
I hope you’ll enjoy this last post for the month of November…
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I don’t remember exactly how often they happened – maybe twice a year – but one of the highlights of my elementary school career was fire drills! The bell would ring three times. We’d quickly line up in single file, and follow the lead of our teacher out into the parking lot or onto the playground. We’d stand as quietly as we could until the bell would ring three more times – the all-clear signal that we were safe to return to the building.
As much as my classmates and I enjoyed the distraction of a break from our routine, those drills would’ve been critical practice had a true emergency occurred. Our teachers were trained and prepared to lead us to safety. The habit of how to respond to a real fire would have paid off in spades – and quite possibly saved lives.
Have you ever read a story in Scripture 1,000 times and on reading it for the 1,001st time, you run across a buried treasure? That happened to me recently as I was studying Daniel 6. The kids in your life who own a Bible story book can tell you the story – Daniel in the lions’ den.
Daniel was a young man who had been among the Israelites who had been exiled to Babylon. Now many years later, King Darius had elevated Daniel to the top of the leadership team due to Daniel’s “exceptional qualities” supplied to him by the Lord.
As the story goes, Daniel’s favor with the king didn’t set well with his colleagues, and they determined to conspire against Daniel. The problem was that Daniel was squeaky clean. The Bible says he was “neither corrupt nor negligent.” So they were stuck when it came to finding any flaws or misconduct.
But there was one area of Daniel’s life that the conspirators decided they could use against him. Daniel loved God above all else, and he was known for his allegiance to the Lord. So they appealed to the pride of the king and had him issue an edict restricting worship to King Darius alone over the next thirty days. Prayer to anyone or anything else would result in being thrown into the lions’ den. Darius, puffed up with arrogance, put the decree into writing. And Daniel’s enemies waited…
Daniel learned of the decree, but rather than panic, he did what he always did. Daniel 6:10 says, “He went home to his upstairs room where the windows were open to Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed,” – and don’t miss this part – “giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before” (emphasis added).
Then Daniel’s enemies reported him to the king, who was greatly distressed, but bound by his own foolish edict, he followed through with the consequence. The king said to Daniel, “May your God Who you serve continuously, rescue you!” (Daniel 10:16b) And a stone was placed over the mouth of the den until morning.
King Darius spent a restless night, unable to sleep. At the break of dawn, he ran to check on Daniel’s welfare – to find Daniel quite alive and safe and “as he had done before,” giving praise to God.
Now, we’re all familiar with this story, but think back to the tail end of verse 10. Daniel “prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.” Friends, Daniel had been practicing gratitude his entire life. And when an emergency came his way in the form of a pride of ravenous lions, Daniel knew exactly what to do.
The practice of gratitude to God is life-giving – and sometimes life-saving. Having our hearts set on gratitude as a matter of habit will be a powerful tool when we face a hard situation and realize – this is not a drill. In this season, may we all look to the Lord with thanksgiving for every situation, knowing that He loves us and works all things together for our good.
