Ten Times Better
I love that being in position to hear from God, allows me to hear from God. This morning He said three things:
Set apart
All things work together
Road less traveled
I wasn’t sure what any of it meant, so I kept praying. During the prayer, a question popped up in my head and I was like, why not ask Holy Spirit about this.
Yesterday I made the best-looking wings ever! And per my family, they were quite scrumptious too. They looked so good that I really wanted one. I had used a carolina gold recipe from my cousin (who always makes these amazing wings during Thanksgiving) and my kids loved them. I even snapped pics of these beautiful wings and shared with a few friends. LOL! My son asked me was I going to eat one and as tempting as it was, I was like nah, you know I am not eating meat. He said to me, “but Mommy it’s a new year and you said you may eat meat in the near year.”
During my prayer time, I realized that I simply could talk to Holy Spirit about this whole not eating meat thing. See I haven’t eaten meat since May 2020. It started off as me being repulsed by what I saw on a Netflix documentary, and then I was trying to cook some chicken one day and totally got nauseous from just merely looking at the raw chicken. Like I totally wanted to gag. Anyway, I decided to try a few non-meat recipes for Memorial Day. I made a jackfruit sandwich (similar to a pulled pork sandwich but made with jackfruit). It was quite tasty. I even shared it with my family. My Dad swore it was pulled pork. LOL!
So this morning, on the heels of making these fire wings, I decided to ask Holy Spirit why I was still not led to eat meat. After I asked, I listened. But then my eyes went back the three things He had already said to me. I still wasn’t sure what any of it meant, so I flipped open my bible with an expectation of Him to speak to me there.
I flipped my bible open to the last page of Ezekiel. I started reading and I was like, I don’t think this is it. Nothing was standing out to me. So I flipped the page. Well do you know what comes after Ezekiel? Honestly, I didn’t. Nope, I don’t know the order of the books of the bible except, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; and Gensis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers . Sorry to disappoint you, but I actually learned that as a kid.
Anyway, I turned the page and it was the book of Daniel! My mind started racing because right now, I am in the middle of a corporate-led fast and one of the things that we are doing corporately is what’s called the Daniel Fast, where you don’t eat meat, just vegetables and fruits. Anyway, yall already know I wasn’t eating meat already, so I had to ask the Holy Spirit what else He wanted me to sacrifice during this corporate fast because meat wouldn’t work for me. Of course He told me exactly what to do.
As I read the first chapter of Daniel, Holy Spirit began to reveal the answer to my question on why I still wasn’t eating meat.
3 The king gave Ashpenaz an order. Ashpenaz was the chief of Nebuchadnezzar’s court officials. The king told him to bring him some of the Israelites. The king wanted them to serve him in his court. He wanted nobles and men from the royal family. 4 He was looking for young men who were healthy and handsome. They had to be able to learn anything. They had to be well educated. They had to have the ability to understand new things quickly and easily. The king wanted men who could serve in his palace. Ashpenaz was supposed to teach them the Babylonian language and writings. 5 The king had his servants give them food and wine from his own table. They received a certain amount every day. The young men had to be trained for three years. After that, they could begin to serve the king.
6 Some of the men chosen were from Judah. Their names were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The chief official gave them new names. He gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar. He gave Hananiah the name Shadrach. He gave Mishael the name Meshach. And he gave Azariah the name Abednego.
8 Daniel decided not to make himself “unclean” by eating the king’s food and drinking his wine. So he asked the chief official for a favor. He wanted permission not to make himself “unclean” with the king’s food and wine. 9 God had caused the official to be kind and friendly to Daniel. 10 But the official refused to do what Daniel asked for. He said, “I’m afraid of the king. He is my master. He has decided what you and your three friends must eat and drink. Other young men are the same age as you. Why should he see you looking worse than them? When he sees how you look, he might kill me.”
11 So Daniel spoke to one of the guards. The chief official had appointed him over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 12 Daniel said to him, “Please test us for ten days. Give us nothing but vegetables to eat. And give us only water to drink. 13 Then compare us with the young men who eat the king’s food. See how we look. After that, do what you want to.” 14 So the guard agreed. He tested them for ten days.
15 After the ten days Daniel and his friends looked healthy and well fed. In fact, they looked better than any of the young men who ate the king’s food. 16 So the guard didn’t require them to eat the king’s special food. He didn’t require them to drink the king’s wine either. He gave them vegetables instead.
17 God gave knowledge and understanding to these four young men. So they understood all kinds of writings and subjects. And Daniel could understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 The three years the king had set for their training ended. So the chief official brought them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them. He didn’t find anyone equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they began to serve the king. 20 He asked them for advice in matters that required wisdom and understanding. The king always found their answers to be the best. Other men in his kingdom claimed to get knowledge by using magic. But the answers of Daniel and his friends were ten times better than theirs.
The verses that stood out to me were: 8, 12, 15-17, 19-20. I looked back at what Holy Spirit had set to me before I had asked the question and He summed it up for me like this: Because of the road less traveled, these men were set apart and their faithfulness was rewarded when they were chosen to attend to the king, who found them to be ten times better than all the other folks in the whole kingdom.
Daniel made the decision to not violate the law of Moses regarding the foods that Jews were not eat and instead pledged his allegiance to his heavenly King. He rejected the world’s way of doing things and honored God instead. And by doing so, God stood at the ready to bless him because of his obedience and trust in God. The same goes for me and you. When we are obedient and when we trust God, He stands at the ready to bless us.
The Holy Spirit was showing me this story as the answer to my question of why I am not eating meat. He has set me apart. I am to take the road less traveled. And because of my obedience, all things will work together in the end.
He told me this: You won’t always be able to see the results of your obedience, but you must trust that it will be rewarded.
I didn’t know why I was not feeling led to eat meat. But I knew God had me on a different journey for a reason. I still don’t know all of it, but when I look at this story, I see that Daniel and his friends who only ate vegetables were healthier and better nourished; and God gave them knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning; and Daniel could even understand visions and dreams of all kinds. From this story I see that they were found to be ten times better than everyone else because of their faithfulness to God and His Kingdom agenda.
The Holy Spirit ended our conversation with: You can’t see, but I can.
That lets me know that I must continue to trust God as I am led by Him daily in my decisions. I may not know exactly why I am doing this, but I trust that God has me doing it for His purposes. And that my obedience will make me and whatever I do, ten times better!
SALVATION PRAYER
If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and you’re not a believer, but you have a desire to be, all you have to do is openly confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9). When you pray that prayer, you are saved. Get connected with a good, bible-based church in your community, stay connected to other believers, and start having daily conversations through prayer with God every single day. Welcome to your new life with Jesus Christ!!!
ASSIGNMENTS
What did Holy Spirit say to you in your conversation with Him this morning?
What is God asking you to do that will set you apart from the crowd?
Record yourself reading the word of God on video or audio and watch how God will use your own voice to give you revelation and build your faith (keeping this assignment on here for a while).
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