Stand strong and firm

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Always With Me

iAmSon

Today is Thursday the 27th of November, in the 34th week of Ordinary Time.

IAmSon sings, ‘Always With Me’. How does this song speak to you today?

I can make through the day

When you're with me on the way

In my heart and mind you'll stay

I can make it through the night

When I'm clinging to your light

You will make the darkness bright

For you are always, always with me

For you are always, always with me

In the calm and in the storm

When it seems I'm all alone

It's your hand I find to hold

In each hour of unrest

When it seems I've nothing left

You speak peace in every breath

For you are always, always with me

For you are always, always with me

In the morning, in the evening

When I'm waking, when I'm sleeping

When I'm arriving, when I'm leaving

You will have me in your keeping

Even from my mothers womb

Never hidden from your view

I was always known to you

When I fade away in death

You will catch my final breath

You will take me to my rest

For you are always, always with me

For you are always, always with me

2:51

Today’s reading is from the Prophet Daniel.

Daniel 6:12-28

Then they approached the king and said concerning the interdict, ‘O king! Did you not sign an interdict, that anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human, within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions?’ The king answered, ‘The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.’ Then they responded to the king, ‘Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.’

When the king heard the charge, he was very much distressed. He was determined to save Daniel, and until the sun went down he made every effort to rescue him. Then the conspirators came to the king and said to him, ‘Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no interdict or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.’

Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, ‘May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!’ A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, ‘O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?’ Daniel then said to the king, ‘O king, live for ever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.’ Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. The king gave a command, and those who had accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the den of lions—they, their children, and their wives. Before they reached the bottom of the den the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces.

Then King Darius wrote to all peoples and nations of every language throughout the whole world: ‘May you have abundant prosperity! I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people should tremble and fear before the God of Daniel:

For he is the living God,

enduring for ever.

His kingdom shall never be destroyed,

and his dominion has no end.

He delivers and rescues,

he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth;

for he has saved Daniel

from the power of the lions.’

So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

7:34

What strikes you most about today’s passage? Perhaps the sheer drama; or the scheming officials who have their comeuppance; or the contrast between the panic-stricken Darius and, what appears to be, the calm composure of Daniel.

Sit with the scenes. Observe the power and hierarchy. Smell the fear. Become aware of the person of Daniel: quietly self-disciplined, most likely inwardly very strong.

Watch Darius praying and fasting, his emotions swinging this way and that. Take a good look at the animals as they prowl.

You could make a parallel between this story and experiences on your own spiritual journey. Perhaps you are being tested in some way. Perhaps even openly challenged. Peter writes in one of his letters to the persecuted church, ‘be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.’ God might be inviting you to be alert, to stand strong and firm. You might ask someone you trust to pray for you to have strength.

Ask God for whatever it is you need in this trying time. You are not alone.

Daniel - alert, self-controlled and strong in adversity - prayed three times a day. Might that become your habit too? Why not ask God to show you a new way of praying each day?

12:27

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.

As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be

World without end

Amen