Hope Beyond DisappointmentНамуна

From Victim to Victorious

Yesterday, we began talking about Daniel. If you’re familiar with his story, then you know the impossible situation he found himself in, but you also know the outcome. Thrown into a fiery furnace for his unwavering faith, Scripture says that not only was he saved in the fire, but he also came out unscorched (Daniel 3:27). How is that possible? In the Pentecostal tradition, it’s the epitome of what older people meant when they used to say, “You don’t look like what you’ve been through.”

I can imagine that Daniel couldn’t escape the disappointment of his faith leading to impending death, the ridicule of holding on to something that so many others had given up on, or even the quiet questions of whether he had been wrong all along. He is very much like you and me in that way, but he is also a perfect example of what I meant on Day 1 when I said God’s Integrity transcends our seasons. Isaiah 54:4 and Isaiah 61:7 remind us that when God restores us, He does such an incredible job that it causes us to forget the intense pain of disappointment. This was the case for Daniel, and it can be the case for you and me.

When this season ends (and as surely as seasons change, this one will end), will you be positioned to be a reminder to those around you of God’s ability to deliver and save? So often, God wants to take us from victim to victor, but the only way to get there is through the process—even though we so badly want to skip it. I’m convinced that we might not be talking about Daniel today if he hadn’t been so publicly honest in his defiance. Yes, things may not be ideal right now. In fact, they might be downright bad. But how else will others partake in the victory if we aren’t bold enough to trust God’s Integrity that “even if He doesn’t,” He is still Faithful and worthy to be praised?

When we take God at His Integrity, and not just as a genie in a bottle to answer our every wish and command, we position ourselves to partake in His Glory in a way that future generations will speak about.