Perception

As I read the book of Daniel, the criteria the King chose for selecting the young men that would work in his service jumped out at me – Young men from royalty and nobility, young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for all kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand. Further down, when the king had a dream and needed a narrator and interpreter, the speech of one of the magicians angered the king and they were all sentenced to death but Daniel came and spoke with tact buying time to speak with God and get the king’s request. I have been meditating on this portion for 2 days now learning from it then it struck me that for a very long time, I used to see the bible as a collection of stories written by divine inspiration.

Yes I was taught that the things in the good book happened to men of old and the Holy Spirit inspired men to write the story but I just could not identify with the characters. For instance, little David fought a lion and bear with is bare hands, he killed Goliath (a giant kitted in full amour from head to toe and fully armed) with just a stone and sling and later turned some hopeless men into mighty men of valor. What a great read. It must have happened to someone that didn't belong to this planet.

I never even knew this was the state of my heart until I started asking questions:

I desire to be led by the spirit, then why do I have to force myself to study the Word? 

I love God with all my heart, why is he always the last person to hear of what I’m going through? Why doesn't his opinion count? 

As these questions and many more played through my head, it dawned on me that He hadn't been real to me. I had not really embraced the reality of his existence. That was why I could easily say "This is not about faith, this is reality." "Let's leave spirituality out of this, let’s face reality".

Even as I write this, I say to myself no this couldn't have been me. But sadly, this is the truth about many believers today. We believe with our heads and not our heart. I don't know what I did to change that mind-set but I know for certain that the Holy Spirit was at work inside of me pulling down the strongholds. If you identify with this story, all I can say is keep listening to messages from trusted men of God, keep studying the scriptures and remain open to the Holy Spirit. For God is working in us, giving us the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.