Page 9 - MyFaith Mag April 2017
P. 9
1. Start
Behind every great story there’s always another story. Rarely
does success come without time, discipline, and hard work.
Successful people often joke that they spent years becom-
ing an overnight success. What many don’t realize is that
it’s the things no one sees that result in the things everyone
wants. It’s the faithfulness to do mundane things well, to de-
velop productive habits, and to remain faithful that eventu-
ally leads to success.
Old Testament prophet Daniel is a great example of this.
Whether you know a lot or a little about Daniel, when you
hear his name, you probably think, Oh, yeah . . . Daniel
in the lions’ den. Any kid who grew up attending Sunday
school or visiting vacation Bible school has heard the
amazing story of Daniel surviving the night in a cave filled
with hungry felines.
Book Excerpt: Let me refresh your memory, and then we’ll go back to the
part many overlook. King Darius was the reigning king of
If you could take a step back and look at your life, you’d Persia. As his kingdom grew, he appointed 120 satraps (simi-
see that every decision matters, even the little ones. Many lar to our present-day state governors) to handle regional
of our daily choices happen invisibly, almost by default, like matters and help govern the people. The king then chose
what we eat for breakfast, the friends we hang out with, or three administrators to oversee those 120 satraps. Daniel
hopping onto social media every time we have a spare was one of the chosen leaders. Over time, by consistently
moment. serving the king with an excellent spirit, Daniel stood out
among all the other satraps and administrators. Eventually
the king decided to place Daniel in charge of the entire
kingdom. So Daniel was an overnight success, right? Actu-
ally, nothing could be farther from the truth. Don’t forget,
there’s a story behind every story. Why was Daniel success-
ful? Why was he favored above others? Why did the king re-
spect him so much? Promote him so quickly? Believe in his
leadership? Why did God look favorably on Daniel? Why
did God close the mouths of the meat-eating lions?
We find our answers in a part of Daniel’s story that many
people skim over. His divine favor was the result of one small
decision he made at some point in his life. We don’t know
when Daniel made this decision or why. We don’t know
whether someone helped him or he decided it on his own.
All we know is that Daniel made one decision, starting one
habit that changed his story.
The decisions we make today determine the stories we tell 2. Stop
about our lives tomorrow. Every day, all day, we make one Determining whether our choices will take us in the right
small choice after another. And these choices just keep direction is important. But sometimes we are already
accumulating, each one woven into the rest, forming the headed in a direction we know is the wrong one, moving
tapestry that is our life story. farther away from the story we want to tell. When this hap-
pens, we need to pause not only to consider the conse-
If you want to take aim at the story you want to tell, you have quences but also to choose to stop traveling in the wrong
to make small, life-changing choices and then act on them direction. The word repentance literally means to change
daily. The best decision you can make is always the next course, to stop walking in one direction and return to God
one. Each decision should move you closer to becoming and his path for us.
all that God made you to be, to turn your life in the direction
of a story you’ll be happy to share. There’s a great example of stopping to reconsider a better
course of action in the Old Testament. In Exodus 18, Moses
Making deliberate, godly decisions will lead you through knew something had to change or he was going to fall
a life full of joy and purpose. When you start making one apart trying to manage all the demands on his life. After
divine decision after another, you’ll see your story emerge, successfully leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt,
the one that God wants to tell through you. And with his Moses became responsible for hearing all of the Israelites’
help, you’ll use the powerful freedom he’s given you to problems and handing down judgments. He kept this up, all
transform your life. day every day, until he was spent. Finally, Moses’ father-in-
law, Jethro, came to offer him some tough love: “What you
