Sometimes in life we find ourselves in difficult places that we never asked to be in. If we aren’t careful we will give up too soon or get frustrated because we don’t understand what God is trying to do in our lives. In this multiple part series I share some lessons we can learn during these difficult times. You can read Part 1, Part 2 & Part 3 here.

In my last post, I wrote how our time of difficulty does serve a purpose in our lives and the Lord equips us supernaturally during times of difficulty.

The next step in enduring difficult places is resolving to keep yourself pure from the influences around you. This is easier said than done. One thing I’ve learned is enemy can’t stop the plan of God in our lives, but he can tempt us to make bad decisions to get us off track.

Lesson 6: In your time of captivity you must resolve not to defile yourself with the influences around you.

Daniel 1:8, “But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way.”

In their captivity the young men were being encouraged to consume the same things that everyone else around them was consuming.

Whenever you’re in the land of captivity you cannot consume the same things that everyone else does. You cannot watch the same TV shows or watch the same movies or listen to the same music. You can’t associate with the same people and talk and act the way others around you do. You can’t go to the same places. You can’t drink the same things and talk the same was as everyone else does. We are told to live in this world, but not to be of it.

If the enemy can’t stop us, then he will often try to neutralize us with temptations or sin. I think all of us have seen great ministry leaders lose all credibility and influence because they gave in to temptation or tried to be like everyone else.

Lesson 7: Your promotion follows your time of captivity.

Daniel 1:19, “The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service.”

Daniel 2:48-49, “Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.”

Daniel went from being incarcerated to being in charge! He and his friends endured their captivity and when the time was right they were promoted. He went from being held captive to the ruler of the most powerful nation in the world and was promoted over all the other wise men.

God uses our time of difficulty to prepare us for something greater.

Question: What do you think God is preparing you for?

In my last post, I wrote how we have to learn to depend upon the “King” during difficult times and we have to realize our seasons of difficulty are only for an appointed time.

The next step in enduring difficult places is understanding the purpose of it. I’ve learned that if I can understand the purpose behind something, then I can can endure it a little easier. There’s an old saying that says, “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” The sugar is the purpose of it all.

Lesson 4: Your time of difficulty is for a purpose.

Daniel 1:5b, “and after that they were to enter the king’s service.”

Your time of captivity is to prepare you for the “King’s” service. God turns our times of difficulty into a time of preparation.

It’s hard to understand how God uses pain in our lives, but Paul reminds us of this in Romans 8:28 when he says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

I have a brother in the Army. Over the course of several years he spent 3 tours in Iraq. Before he was sent off to war he was sent to boot camp for several weeks to get his mind and body ready for the harsh realities of war.

Your time of difficulty is your boot camp! By the way, if you’re a born again Christian, then you’re in a war against the devil.

God doesn’t allow us to go into captivity to leave us there. He allows us to go there to prepare us for service.

If you’re facing difficulty right now, then you need to know God is preparing you for something greater and more significant. It’s not because he’s mad at you, it’s because he trusts you. (Read that again!)

Lesson 5: The Lord equips you supernaturally during your time of difficulty.

Daniel 1:17, “To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.”

The Lord equipped Daniel and his friends supernaturally while they were in captivity in preparation for their promotion.

If Daniel had not went through this time of equipping he would not have been able to give Nebuchadnezzar the answer to his question.

You are going to meet people down the road in your life who are going to need what you have. They’re going to need answers to life’s difficult questions and you’re going to be one that can help them.

This past year has been one of the hardest years of my life. My family has had more difficulties that I can count or even go into on this blog. Recently, I had breakfast with a friend who was facing some real difficulties in his life. As he confided with me what he had been going through I felt burdened for him. As he shared his story I had a God moment. While he was sharing I quickly realized why God had allowed me to go through so much this year. I went through so much this year because this dear friend was going to need someone to help him get through a similar time in his life. God turned my mess into a ministry!

In your captivity God supernaturally equips you with the gifts and talents that you will need in order to get you to where he needs you.

In Part 4 of this series I will discuss keeping yourself pure while waiting on God and how your promotion almost always follows your difficulty.

Question: How can you use your current difficulty to help someone else?

In my last post, I wrote about the lessons we learn during difficult times. The lessons learned through life’s difficulties are what God often uses to prepare us for our futures.

There are still a few more lessons we can learn from Daniel’s life.

Lesson 2: You have to learn to depend on the “King” for your sustenance while in your captivity.

Daniel 1:5, “The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king’s table.”

These young men had to learn to depend on someone to meet their needs in captivity. A few years ago I went through a difficult time like this. There were a few weeks where I didn’t have money to buy groceries and pay all the bills. I was working hard, but I was in a new job that paid significantly less than my previous one. There were more bills than money. To make matters worse, it was really close to Christmas.

One night while I was up late praying (complaining) to the Lord I accused him of not loving my family. I’m ashamed to admit this, but I was hurting and I’m being honest. The Lord spoke to me and said, “Son, do you really think you love your family more than I do?” When he said this I quickly realized he wasn’t really asking me a question or looking for information. He wanted me to really think about what I had been saying.

During this difficult season I saw God provide in some miraculous ways. There was an older couple in our church who knew nothing of our plight and they called my wife and asked if they could stop by for a few minutes. They stopped by and told us they loved us, hugged our necks and gave us an envelope and left. After they left we opened the envelope to find a check for $2000 in it. During that same time period we had more “coincidences” like this when random people would just come up and give us money. I had never seen anything like it before in my life and I haven’t experienced anything like it since.

The most interesting thing about the whole situation is that no one knew what we were going through. In about a two week time period the Lord brought over $3200.00 into our hands. It was enough to pay our bills, buy groceries, tithe and buy our girls a few Christmas gifts. I’ve never forgotten this experience.

Lesson 3: Your time of captivity is only for an appointed time.

Daniel 1:5b, “They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.”

Their time of captivity wasn’t permanent. It’s easy to get discouraged in our times of difficulty because we don’t know when our time will be up, but the Lord reminds us in Galatians 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Our “King” has an appointed time for us. He doesn’t allow us to go into captivity and forget about us. He lets us go into captivity with knowing the end from the beginning.

In part 3 of this series, I will talk about the purpose of your captivity. Life is difficult, but when we know the purpose of something we can seem to endure things a little better.

Question: What area of your life do you need to remind yourself of this?

Have you ever felt trapped in a place and no matter how hard you tried you couldn’t get out of it? Has God ever allowed you to live in a difficult place and no matter how hard you asked he wouldn’t let you go? If so, you’re in good company! The Old Testament prophet Daniel found himself in a place like this.

You can read about Daniel’s story by clicking here. The book of Daniel opens with the nation of Judah being captured by Babylon and being exiled there. According to Webster to be held captive means “to be taken and held as or if a prisoner of war; to be kept within bounds; to be confined; and to be held under control by another.” They were in a place against their will.

Many of us, like Daniel, have found ourselves in similar difficult places in our lives. Life just seems to have a way of happening without our permission. Several years ago I left a place of ministry in hopes of going to school full time, but it didn’t work out. I ended up having to move into my mother-in-law’s garage for a few years with my wife and baby. To say it was a difficult period of my life would have been an understatement of ridiculous proportions.

Your captivity might be a sickness, financial hardship, or a bad relationship, or job. Simply put: Your captivity is any place you did not ask to be in.

Like Daniel, we too can learn to make the best of a negative situation.

Lesson 1: Your time of captivity is meant to be a time of education.

Daniel 1:4b, “He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians.”

Some types of education you can only get through the experience of living in difficult places. The young men had to learn the language and literature of the Babylonians and the only way to get that type of education was to live in captivity in Babylon.

We can’t control what happens to us, but we can control our response. Sometimes God allows us to find ourselves in places of difficulty because he’s trying to teach us something. Also, he uses these difficult places to prepare us for our life purpose. In essence, Daniel went to college before he was promoted.

The Lord educates and equips us during these hard times so that when he brings us into our destinies we will know how to act! Daniel didn’t know why he was going through all of this, but the Lord did. The Lord knew Daniel would be in a place of influence and stature one day.

I’m thoroughly convinced the life difficulties we face are just bridges to our future.

In part 2 of this series, I will discuss learning to depend on God during your difficult times.

Question: How can you use your life difficulties to help someone else?