Daniel 1:9a - "And God gave Daniel favor and compassion."
Being a dad and being smart don't always go hand in hand.
As dads, we like to hang with our kids. Not just hang with them as in be with them, but hang with them as in do what they do. Ya know, keep up with them. Like when my brother and I were in our teens and my dad was in his forties, he would hang with my brother and me. We played church softball, so he played church softball. We'd hit the ball and run fast. He'd hit the ball and, well, pull a muscle.
Now I understand.
My son's in his teens, and I'm in my fifties, early fifties, 53 to be exact, but fifties nonetheless. But I want to hang with him.
So he lifts weights. I do push ups. He lifts weights. He asks me to lift with him. I do push ups, so I think I can lift weights. So a couple years ago, I did start to lift the weight, kinda like my dad hit the ball, and then I slap tore my right labrum, ya know, my shoulder rotator thingy. Right, Doc? Just like my dad pulled a muscle.
Being a dad and being smart don't always go hand in hand.
So, what I did was what my dad did. I favored it. Ya know, my dad favored his pulled hamstring. I favored my shoulder rotator thingy. You do know what it is to favor something, don't you? You take it easy on it. You lighten the load. You take some weight and burden off it. You favor it.
That's what God did with Daniel in today's verse. God favored Daniel. God took it easy on him. God lightened his load. God took some weight and burden off Daniel. God favored him.
In Psalm 84:11, God says that God favors anybody who walks uprightly. "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Throughout God's word, walking uprightly simply means to trust God and His word so much that you really listen for God and listen to God and ask God for His strength to do what He tells us to do.
And why would anyone want to do what God tells us? Well, because the opposite of walking uprightly is walking slumped over, ya know, like you're injured, bum hamstring, bum shoulder rotator thingy. Some people actually think that walking apart from God, walking slumped is better, like a guy I met one time. I tried so hard to tell him about God's favor, how God's Son, Jesus, lightens the load, takes some weight and burden off, favors those who trust Him. But Mr B wouldn't hear of it. Why? Because being a human and being smart don't always go hand in hand.
Hey y'all, life's hard enough as it is. God wants to show you some favor, heal the injuries of your soul, lighten your load, take some weight and burden off. Be smart; trust Him; follow His lead, and, like Daniel of old, claim God's promise in Psalm 84:11, "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly."
Praise God!
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