Est. 9:1-5 reads, “So on the 28^th of February, the day the two decrees of the king were to be put into effect – the day the Jews’ enemies had hoped to vanquish them, though it turned out quite to the contrary – the Jews gathered in their cities throughout all the king’s provinces to defend themselves against any who might try to harm them; but no one tried, for they were greatly feared. And all the rulers of the provinces – the governors, officials, and aides – helped the Jews for the fear of Mordecai; for Mordecai was a mighty name in the king’s palace and his fame was known throughout all the provinces, for he had become more and more powerful. But the Jews went ahead on that appointed day and slaughtered their enemies” (TLB). Because somebody was resolute, because somebody did not bow to satanic pressure, the whole nation of the Jews was not only saved, the name of the Lord was magnified. Those who wanted to pull down the Jews began to dread them and those who wanted to kill them were slaughtered. This is the secret of getting to the palace, it is by righteousness.

Another character in the Bible who was resolute and refused to bow is Daniel. Dan. 6:1-7 “Darius divided the kingdom into 120 provinces, each under a governor. The governors were accountable to three presidents (Daniel was one of them) so that the king could administer the kingdom efficiently. Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other presidents and governors, for he had great ability, and the king began to think of placing him over the entire empire as his administrative officer. This made the other presidents and governors very jealous, and they began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling his affairs so that they could complain to the king about him. Nevertheless, they couldn’t find anything to criticize! He was faithful and honest, and made no mistakes. So they concluded, our only chance is his religion! They decided to go to the king and say, King Darius, live forever! We presidents, governors, counselors and deputies have unanimously decided that you should make a law, irrevocable under any circumstances, that for the next thirty days anyone who ask a favour of God or man – except from you, Your Majesty – shall be thrown to the lions. Your Majesty, we request your signature on this law; sign it so that it cannot be canceled or changed; it will be a law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked. So King Darius signed the law” (TLB). There was an evil conspiracy against Daniel because he was being promoted over and above the other presidents and governors, they became jealous and decided to conspire against him. After trying without success to look for ways to implicate him, the only thing they could find was his commitment to worship; his placement of value on his relationship with God, his faith.

Today, unfortunately, the first thing that Christians do away with when under pressure is their identity. They compromise and settle for crumbs. If God does not promote you, whoever tries to do so is only wasting his or her time. Any promotion you get through manipulation and scheming is ephemeral; it is not high enough because the person that promoted you also has the capacity to demote you. This is why a true child of God must be very careful about his activities. Your greatest asset is your God connection; don’t ever let anything come between you and your connection to God.

TO BE CONTINUED