Heaven Rules: Take courage. Take comfort. Our God is in control.

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During the summer Robert had what turned out to be another cancer. We thought it might be related to the first, but it turned out that it wasn't. So we went from melanoma to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and has been through several months of chemo treatments. But as we've been sharing all along, it looks like the chemo has really been working.

Now, I know these are times of economic uncertainty, at least from a human perspective, and it may represent greater sacrifice for you to give this year. And of course, we never want to do anything to take away from your regular giving to your local church. I wonder if maybe one of his prayers was that prayer in Psalm 22, later attributed as a prophetic prayer to the Messiah. In Psalm 22:21 “Save me from the lion’s mouth . . . I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the assembly.” Did he pray with that intercession that is pleading with God and that praise while he was down there in that den? And, by the way, the coronavirus and cancer aren’t the only two crises going on in our world. There are other tragedies. You read about the locusts in Africa that are eating up millions of acres and creating what could be food deprivation for a generation of millions of people. This is real. The truth is: “heaven rules.” And this truth will bring you confidence and comfort and calm because cancer doesn’t command your future. Your husband doesn’t command your destiny. Your children don’t command your destiny. Your health doesn’t command your destiny. Jesus commands our destiny. Did the king think it was possible? Did he assume that Daniel was dead? Did he think that maybe Daniel had lived?I want to just meditate on verse 10 today, and then that last verse, verse 11, in our program tomorrow. They threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you continually serve, rescue you!" (v. 16) The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned, King forever. The Lord gives His people strength; the Lord blesses His people with peace (vv. 10–11).

This is a moment of sorrow and lament, but it’s also—in God’s strange ways—a heart-lifting celebration, so let’s enter into all of that. Jesus did, so can we and should we. “God is already there and has gone before us. He has all of this, and we will be okay.” That’s what Nathan said as he was headed to the hospital on Saturday. As I got that call from my mom, the verse from Psalm 119, verse 68, that says God is good, and He does good. And I’ll tell you, over those next days and weeks, there were many tears shed. I was very close to my dad. This was a sudden and painful loss. I have a sweet friend who has heard me say this many times. And during this whole coronavirus and cancer situation, one day she was praying for Robert and me. She lives far away in Texas, and she took a picture that she texted to me—it’s now the screen saver on my phone. It’s a picture of a Post-It Note, a yellow Post-It Note, that says, “heaven rules.” And she’s just holding up that Post-It Note in her hand. “Heaven rules.”It explains a lot about his wisdom, about his excellent spirit, about his ability to discern what God was saying and doing in different circumstances and seasons. They were no longer in control of their day, but they were still in control of their worship, and they would not relinquish that, under any condition. So the king is in distress. He cares for Daniel. He admires him. He’s unable to eat or sleep, and by the way, there’s no indication of that being true of Daniel. It’s the king who was exercised. No doubt that Daniel prayed in that lions’ den, as he was accustomed to doing. The king hated the thought of feeding Daniel to the lions. Daniel was a trustworthy effective public servant who had done absolutely nothing wrong, but the edict could not be reversed. At the first light of dawn the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish to Daniel. "Daniel, servant of the living God," the king said, "has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions?" (vv. 19–20)

Nancy: So, I hope you’re keeping up with us on our study of Daniel, as we look for Heaven rules sightings. We’re taking about a chapter a day, so if you can read ahead and read the chapter before we talk about it, you’ll get even more out of this series. For years I’ve opened God’s Word and taught that things don’t “just happen,” that our God is in control. He knows what He’s doing. The events that touch our lives are purposeful.

—David Jeremiah

We never know what we’re stepping into when we choose the worship of God over what comes more naturally to us: the fear of man, and the tendency to prostrate ourselves before earthy powers, trends, and demands.

Let me begin reading in Daniel chapter 6. Oh Lord as we read, I pray that You would give us understanding—eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to receive what Your Spirit has to say to us today. Thank You that heaven does rule, and we’ll see that in this chapter. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen. Nancy: In May we were in our first of what turned out to be two cancer diagnoses this year. We could not have imagined when I recorded this message how much we would continue to need these truths and how precious Psalm 29:10–11 would become to us—not just in that season, but throughout this entire year.Now, we all have sins, we all have sins that we wouldn’t want exposed. But to live a life that no one, no matter how hard or far they go digging, they couldn’t find something to accuse us of, that’s an amazing life. Don’t let the enemy steal your joy today by giving into what I call, unauthorized imaginations of what might happen tomorrow. Whatever happens tomorrow, God will give you grace for that. The Lord sits enthroned.” He repeats it. It’s for emphasis so that we get this picture—in a world of instability and uncertainty, here’s one thing that is absolutely certain: “The Lord is sitting enthroned over the flood.” Pastor Wes Ward: Our precious Samuel Ethan, your first name means “God has heard,” and your middle name means “strong, safe.” We had no idea, when God led us to that name, how perfect this name would be for you! Nancy: And don’t forget that your donation will be matched, dollar for dollar, by a group of generous friends of Revive Our Hearts. They believe in the message and the mission of this ministry. By making this challenge, they’re wanting to encourage others to give as well.