FAITH CAPSULE: Be steadfast not to contradict the journey to advance.
Genesis 19:12-26, Daniel 1
It is time to advance in the calling of the Lord. In the process of making advance in the Lord’s calling upon your life, trust God for a clean heart and a steadfast spirit. In addition to a clean heart and steadfast spirit, maintain focus and let the past be in the past by ignoring the multitude in your life. Maintaining focus is crucial to making advance in the calling of the Lord. Focus will keep man from distraction. A failure to maintain focus will pass man to distraction. Distraction comes along with sudden and untimely death for its victims.
Daniel, young in captivity maintained focus when he purposed in his heart not to defile God. It happened that the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them. It sounds good for a young captive to accept provision of the king. To Daniel it was considered as anti-focus when he made the choice to maintain focus. It is written, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8) Daniel kept himself to become a vessel for God and he made advancement everywhere he turned to. Daniel engaged his journey in captivity with a purposeful heart. He allowed God to reign in his life when he refused to defile his body (the temple of God). Daniel was steadfast not to contradict his journey to advance.
Lot’s wife could not let the past be in the past she disregarded the command of God which states, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.” (Genesis 19:17) Lot’s wife did the opposite when she looked back and became a pillar of salt (Genesis19:26) Whatever Lot’s wife was looking for in her past represents a multitude (unnecessary baggage). The multitude in her life caused her to become a pillar of salt and not escape as ordained for her by God. There is no one that goes forward by looking back. This also testifies that we cannot set sight on the past and be able to see what is ahead. The case of Lot’s wife is that of a shifted focus. Lot must have been steadfast looking forward to where the Lord was taking him and his family. Daniel could not allow any distraction because he was focus. It is time to advance in your calling and allow God’s name to be glorified over your life.
Prayer for today: Ask for the grace to be steadfastly focused in every area of your calling.