Think of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the book of Daniel. They were thrown into a fiery furnace. Big interruption in their plans, right? But they declared to the king their complete confidence that God was in control of their circumstances.
“If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”—Daniel 3:17–18 (NIV)
As a result of this “interruption” in their lives, the king of Babylon (the most powerful man in the world at that time) verbally glorified God and sent out a decree to everyone in his kingdom that no one should speak a negative word against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He also personally promoted all three men to important positions of responsibility in the kingdom of Babylon.
All because of one interruption in the lives of these men.
And what about Joseph? His life as the favored son was cruelly interrupted when he was first tossed into a pit by his own brothers, sold into slavery, falsely accused, and then thrown into prison! But in the midst of all of these interruptions, Joseph had confidence that God was in complete control of these circumstances in his life. After he was promoted to the position of second most powerful man in Egypt (and eventually in the world because of the famine), he was reunited with the brothers who had brought about these life-altering interruptions in his life. This was Joseph’s response:
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”—Genesis 50:20 (NIV)
But what if the interruption is so severe that it results in death, as in the lives of Jesus or Stephen? That is when we can truly experience the miracle of exponential multiplication of our impact for the kingdom of God! As Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24 ESV)
When Jesus’ life and ministry were “interrupted” or “cut off,” as it reads in Daniel 9:26, it was the best thing that could have happened for the impact of his life and ministry! Because of His death, the veil of separation between God and man was torn apart forever, and the way of salvation was opened for all of us!
Jesus did not look upon His death at a young age as a negative thing. He saw the blessings that would result in it for all of us! He also realized that His death would allow us to experience the Holy Spirit in ways that were never before possible!
“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”—John 16:7 (NASB)
But that was Jesus. He was special, wasn’t He? Can good things come out of the death of an ordinary person?
Paul Keith Davis, founder of WhiteDove Ministries, had a revelation about the death of Stephen. In Paul Keith’s revelation, after the devil persuaded people to take Stephen’s life in Acts 7, the Lord took one of Satan’s rising stars, Saul of Tarsus, in exchange. As Paul the Apostle, he probably did more damage to the kingdom of darkness than Stephen ever would have in his lifetime!
Paul Keith Davis has related this revelation in several of his messages. You can search for it on YouTube. It is included, for example, about nineteen minutes into the Saturday Morning Session at New Life Christian Church in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, from August 20, 2011.
The devil never wins. Sometimes we think he wins because our focus is too narrow. In many, many instances, death was not the end of the story. On the contrary, out of death came the greatest harvest and the greatest blessings!
Consider Rachel Scott, one of the first students killed in the Columbine tragedy. Her desire was to reach multitudes of people with the love of Christ. Her funeral, which included many testimonies to the goodness of God, was televised uninterrupted by CNN and seen around the world by more people than any other broadcast on that station, eclipsing even Princess Diana’s funeral. Rachel’s influence still lives on and is growing through the Rachel’s Challenge organization and other movements, impacting the lives of literally millions of people. A movie about Rachel’s life, entitled “I”m Not Ashamed” is scheduled for release in October.
Satan never wins. He can’t win. He just keeps trying the same things over and over; and God keeps turning those things around for good in the lives of everyone who loves Him and is called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28).
Learn to cooperate with what God is doing in your life. When you complain about your circumstances and take matters into your own hands, you take them out of God’s hands.
