No Place Like Home!

{We try to keep posts short, but this is from one of our newer friends to the men's ministry and worth the read. -=db=-}

“There’s No Place Like Home”

You might recognize the title from the movie, The Wizard of Oz. It is a line that the character Dorothy uses to get back home. The verse below occurs at the halfway point in the book of Daniel. Even a quick read through this powerful book will leave the reader with the conclusion that the prophet Daniel was never a “halfway” devoted follower of God. He gave his fullest. We read in Chapter 6 about Daniel and the Lion’s Den. A decree is signed by the new king that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to anyone, divine or human - except for the new king - will be thrown to the lions.

Daniel 6:10

On learning that the document had been signed, Daniel went home. The windows of his upstairs room were open in the direction of Jerusalem; and there he kneeled down three times a day and prayed, giving thanks before his God, just as he had been doing before. (Complete Jewish Bible)

Daniel went home. Just as Dorothy had longed for Kansas….Daniel longed for Jerusalem. The verse states that he went to his home in Babylon after he found out about the document (decree) to honor the new King. Now Daniel knew about the providence of God and he left the matter up to God by continuing in prayer.

But where was Daniel’s true home? He had been taken captive as a teenager and when King Darius takes control, Daniel is in his senior years. He had risen to many powerful positions and spent most of his life in Babylon, so what could he possibly remember about a distant land in ruins. Daniel’s true home was his heart for God. Just as we learn from the verse above that his windows were opened, so was his heart. He would not shut the windows and lock the door to the world in which he lived. He would not give up and he would not give in to his circumstances. He understood a compassionate God, a merciful God.

Daniel would not turn his back on God. He would pray facing Jerusalem, God’s holy mountain. He would pray every day to honor his Lord. He had been taught this from his youth that he could not and did not stray from his appointments with the creator of the universe. Just as our fictional character Dorothy had a relentless search for home….the real life prophet Daniel searched his heart to be pleasing in the unobstructed sight of God. When the troubles and pressures became too much to bear, Daniel heard the message, “Don’t be afraid, for you are deeply loved by God. Be at peace; take heart and be strong” (Dan. 10:19, New Living Translation).

In our make believe Oz movie, Dorothy is required to click her heels together three times to get home. In the Divinely Inspired Word of God, we find that Daniel is praying three times a day. This was and is the custom of the Jewish people to honor the patriarchs; Abraham with the Morning Prayer, Isaac with the Afternoon Prayer and Jacob with the Evening Prayer. What it reminds us to do is to remember all the men and women of faith who have walked before us in service to the Lord.

There are many lessons we can learn from the Book of Daniel, so we end with this one. In the movie, Dorothy finds herself far from home and the search ends when she realizes that she was only 12 inches away. The distance from her heart and mind. Have you lost your way? The Bible says, “But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (Deut. 4:29, NIV). With the heart of God living inside you, there really is no place like home.

Blessings,

Chris Pendleton