DAILY DOSE OF HOPE – BLOG – NAIMA LETT
PERFECT 10! | Day 30 of 40 (LENT)

VIDEO BELOW

LaLa Land. 1984. Olympics.

Rising-starlet-gymnast Mary Lou Retton needs a PERFECT 10.00 to best Romanian Ecaterina Szabo for the All-Around Gold medal. It would be the first All-Around Women’s gold in American history. No pressure.

Six weeks earlier, Mary Lou has emergency surgery on her knee. But that’s ancient history now. She aces her uneven bars, balance beam and floor exercise, but still trails Ecaterina by 00.15 points. If Mary Lou nails her vault with a 09.50, she will tie for first place. Anything lower than 09.50, she’d receives silver. With a PERFECT 10.00, she clinches gold.

And that’s exactly what she does:
VIDEO [41 secs]: Mary Lou’s PERFECT 10.0

From the Olympic games to Dancing with the Stars, the “10” is the highest standard. Not that we’re striving for perfection, but we can certainly keep putting forth our “10” effort for the last 10 days of our Lenten season of fasting, prayer and reflection.

Just 10 days to go!
Can you believe it?!

There’s a fascinating scripture in the book of Daniel that reveals what a difference 10 days can make when dedicated to the Lord. (We finished Nehemiah yesterday with “Remember Me“)

Day 30:
Read below or click here: DANIEL 1: 11-20
Entire Chapter: Daniel 1

11 Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, 12 “Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.” 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 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. 18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. 20 In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.

The competition is set:
Weighing in on God’s side are four young men:
Daniel and Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah – AKA Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.
These aren’t just any random dudes. These are Israel’s rising stars.

When Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, conquers Jerusalem and carries God’s people into captivity, the king orders to serve in his palace: young men from Israel’s royal family and nobility, without physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, and quick to understand. These four are among Israel’s best.

But there’s a problem.

All of the young men commissioned to serve in the king’s palace are required to eat the king’s royal food and wine, which does not jive with how God’s people eat and the dietary traditions based on their law. Daniel and his 3 friends request to not eat the king’s food, because doing so would go against God’s law. In order to get a green light, they are first tested.

So, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego undergo a 10-day fast without the king’s food to prove to the king’s official that if they obey God, He will take care of them.

Much of the Book of Daniel reveals Daniel (and his friends) making decisions to stand for God in a foreign land where the customs are not of God. Daniel stands up for God and is rescued from a lion’s den. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego stand up for God and are rescued from a fire.

All four comrades stand up for God by refusing to defile themselves with the king’s diet, and the Lord rewards them.

This scripture is not saying that only vegetarians are holy (though I’m convinced that we vegetarians are a little holier! :=) Just kidding!) or that we’re only supposed to drink water. This is not really about the food at all.

The real question is, “Will they obey God’s laws?”
When taken away from their home, “Will they still obey God?”
When no one else does, “Will they stand for God?”
When no one else was looking, “Will they do the right thing before God?”

We can ask these same questions.
Will we obey God?
When we are tested, will we still obey?
When no one is looking, will we do the right thing?

Even if it means giving up choice foods for 10 more days?!

Now, we don’t do things for God to just become “ten times better” than others, but it is incredibly encouraging that God sees our sacrifices and reward us, which in Daniel and his friends’ case results in them being “ten times better”.

Let’s keep pressing into God over the next 10 days.
Don’t give up now. We can do it.
It’s Mary Lou Retton vault time.

I personally look forward to Easter and the great celebration where we all jump up and down and hug and scream and party because our greatest champion, God’s own son, won the greatest victory of all time, on our behalf – the victory over death. Mary Lou won’t be the only one doing somersaults!

Watch out. I’m getting my warm up on now!

Go forth,
Naima

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DAILY PRAYER (LENT):
1) Confession & Repentance – Let’s confess our wrongs and ask forgiveness
2) Complete transparency – Let our guard down and talk to God about our lives.
3) Listen – Let’s quiet and listen to God’s Spirit re: the scriptures, etc.
4) Intercession for others – Let’s pray for our family, friends, coworkers, church, etc.