Ghost StoriesSample

What is the scariest situation you have been in? Imagine being at the zoo and getting stuck in the compound where the lions are. How do you think that you would handle that situation? Personally, I would accept my fate of being eaten alive if I didn’t have a phone to call 911. Imagine being in this situation, being thrown in a den of lions and choosing to pray and trust God to defend you. This is what Daniel did. He fasted and did not sleep the entire night while in the lion's den. When the night was over, Daniel was found safe and gave glory to God for shutting the mouths of lions to protect him. The men who had plotted against Daniel were then thrown into the lion's den, along with their families and were immediately crushed by the lions. Now, this is a scary story from Daniel’s side because he was simply choosing to worship God over idols and was set up then punished because of his right choice. However, because of this the king was able to honor God and declare that everyone else had a fear of the God that Daniel worshiped. Daniel was able to prosper for the rest of the king’s reign.

You probably are not going to be thrown into a lion’s den anytime soon because of your worship to the Lord. Although, there may be moments when you choose to worship Jesus no matter what anyone else says or you stand up for truth when you’re told not to and that comes with a price. The question is do you worship anyway? When you’re being persecuted and made fun of for following Jesus, does your worship and outspokenness change? Let the hope of Daniel’s story be true in your own life. God takes care of His children and uses your faithfulness to Him as testimony to those who are not following Him. Daniel was in a scary situation because he stood up for what was right and God was glorified because of it. When you face the scary situations of speaking up or living a life for the Lord and being ridiculed because of it, let God use you and continue to stand on His Word. Trust in Him and know that God will take your scary situations and turn them into hope for you and a hope for others.

The rest of this week will be about “horror to hope” stories in the life of Jesus and those around Him. Jesus faced hardship and fearful situations with trust in God. In the midst of His hardships, He chose to be obedient and it created a ripple effect to those around Him. Even after His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension there were aftershocks of the hope provided by His obedience to God’s will to His followers and eventually the world. Your community can be reached by God if you lean on the Holy Spirit and offer your life as a sacrifice to be used by God. God will use your horror stories within your own life to bring hope and restoration to those who need it. Let Him use your life and testimony today.