Live Free with Josh Howerton - Courage is Dependency on God | Ep. 437 | Tuesday, October 8, 2024

Episode Date: October 8, 2024

Solid friendships and a healthy community are highlighted throughout the Bible, emphasizing that we are better together, as seen with the friendship of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. In times of solitude or vulnerability when away from supportive friends, relying on God for strength becomes essential. Proverbs 18:10 underscores the unshakable strength of God, emphasizing the importance of having strong friends in our lives while ultimately depending on God for support. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what is up, everybody? Thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. My name is Bro, and in our last episode, we saw where King Nebuchadnezzar, the ruler of a massive empire and a massive ego to match,

sets up this nine-story golden statue on the plains of Dura, and commands everybody in the nation to bow down to it. When the music was started at a certain time of day, you were to stop whatever you were doing, and bow low in worship and honor of this little G. God, which, represented the king's majesty. If you didn't do it, capital punishment awaited you. Yesterday we were introduced to four guys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo,

and their most famous friend, Daniel. And in spite of being foreign exiles from Israel, they all, because of their integrity and their character, were high officials in Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. They were excellent workers. They were loyal. They were respected. They were highly skilled. They were

highly trusted. They were highly valued. And while they served the king, They worshipped only the true and living God. And so when the music starts, and everybody else stops what they are doing and bows down, these three stay standing. Not in an arrogant, defiant, holier-than-thou kind of way, but just in a, y'all can do what you want,

but the three of us love God kind of way. So some jealous dudes turn them into the king, and now these three are in big trouble. Now a couple of things I want to point out real quick. this kind of hit me. You may be wondering, where's Daniel on all this? Well, it really doesn't say. He's probably just serving at his post. In fact, later on, the same kind of jealous plot would get him thrown in with some hungry lions, which is another great story for another day, but he's not included in this part of the story. And maybe it's just me, but I think that that makes this story

even cooler than it is. Because in the first two chapters of the book of Daniel, it's really clear when it comes to these four young Jewish guys, Daniel was their leader. He was the spokesperson. He was their brave one. He was their strong one. And now here they are, without their leader, standing up for God by themselves. You know, it's great to have strong friendships. We all need them.

We teach and believe to the core of our being that it's essential for us to be in healthy community and surround ourselves with godly relationships. We're just better together, right? Scripture makes that clear. But we will never know and experience the full power of God in our own lives if our courage is all wrapped up in somebody else. Because there will be times when you will be face to face with a scary situation, some kind of daunting task or a strong temptation,

and your quote-unquote strong one is nowhere to be found. And what we so often do is panic. We're thinking, where are they? I can't believe my friend, my parent, my spouse, my pastor, my mentor, sponsor isn't picking up the phone. Man, if I ever needed them, I need them right now. But I believe God uses those moments in our lives so that we can depend on him.

And he can be revealed as our true strong one. Proverbs 1810 reminds us, The name of the Lord is a strong fortress, the godly run to him and are safe. If you're in a situation right now, and you're alone, you're afraid, you're looking around for your strong one, and they're not around? Or maybe they were not there for you the way you thought they would be?

Or maybe they moved away? Or maybe they passed away? Or maybe they didn't turn out to be as strong as you thought they were. Or maybe they relapsed. Or they bailed out on you. Or they disappointed you. It's up to you now, to lean into God. He is the God of unfailing love.

He is your unshakable, strong one. So why not stop and just tell him? that today. Why don't I just pray, God, I need you to be my strength. I need you to be my fortress. Thank you for the people that you've put in my life. I really do need them. But I want you to know that you are my rock. You are my strong one. Talk to him about that. And then come back tomorrow and we'll see where this story goes. Have a great day. Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.combe.

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