Dare to do Great Things for God
By Pastor Claudia Castellanos
I’ve heard many say that when you are young you are allowed to be wrong, because as you grow older your steps will be guided. But in my youth I understood that my future would depend on what I would do in that stage of my life. When I gave my life to the Lord I was fourteen years old and none of my friends were Christians. The church I attended was small and a bit religious. So, instead of attracting young people, it would drive them away. However, the Lord revealed to me that my future, as well as the generations that would come after me, was dependent on every decision I would make, and on what I would allow in my heart. Today I give thanks to God for that church and for those pastors who taught me the Holy Word. The great dream started in those days – the seed of faith that would take me to do great things for God was planted in my heart.
The book of Daniel was the book that impacted me most during my youth. It impacted me to such a degree that the Lord recently revealed to me that Daniel marked my nature. I was able to identify with that book. I wanted to do things the prophet had done, and this left an indelible impression upon my life. Everything you go through when you are young will determine your nature in the future.
The compass the Lord gave me for the future was the first chapter of Daniel. The Lord revealed three pillars to me that I was to always consider during my youth:
1. Choose Your Friends
This was very difficult for me because I enjoyed being with my old friends. But the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said that if I wanted to reach my destiny and fulfil the purpose that I was created for, I must be selective in choosing my friends. I started to analyze everything observing three main factors: a) Does the friendship edify me? b) Does it motivate me to do the things of God? c) Does it bring comfort to my life? After making this analysis I came to the conclusion that none of my friends fulfilled those characteristics at that point in time. As a result I had to die to those friends. That was my first offering to the Lord. Then, when I read the book of Daniel, I found out that the prophet was only seventeen years old when the Lord called him and gave him a mission. However, God did not leave him alone. He gave Daniel three friends to help him fulfil his mission: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The friends who do not bring you closer to the things of God must be your first offering. This offering implies self-denial and surrender. But if you do it the Lord will reward you with special friends.
2. Have a Disciplined Life
Discipline must be present in all aspects of your life: in the physical, spiritual, and intellectual. When I was fourteen years old I was very athletic. Today I must be more disciplined with my body. You must be very careful with the type of food you eat. A healthy elderly life depends on what you do during your youth; you must be determined. Likewise, you must also have spiritual discipline. Daniel was a balanced individual in every area. The Holy Spirit will lead you to have this vital spiritual discipline. I admire my daughter Manuela because she loves the Word of God and she disciplines herself to study everyday. Every time we share the Word with each other, I learn from her. But she is strong in the Word only because of her discipline to continue reading it. Another example of discipline I have noticed is with the young people in our church in Miami. In North American churches it seemed as if youth groups could only reach a limit of 300 young people. However our church in Miami did not accept this. We determined to intercede three times a week to break these barriers, and at the last youth convention, our youth brought a total of 700 people to the convention.
3. Gain Knowledge
Another aspect I see in the prophet Daniel is his discipline to acquire knowledge. The Holy Spirit will give you a desire for this. Perhaps He will cause you to not settle with what you have achieved up until now. You may go through external circumstances that will make you uncomfortable internally, but they will lead you to the purpose for which you were born. This was what happened to me. In 1989 I arrived home late one night, and when I turned on the TV I saw a programme on politics that impacted me. I was not accustomed to watching this kind of programme but it grabbed my attention. There was a senator who practiced the occult who wanted to be President of Colombia. This provoked a righteous anger within me. I could not understand how that woman was in Congress and how Christians, in the meantime, were praying within the four walls of the church. I stood up from my chair and said, “If I must become a politician in order to save this nation, then a politician I will be.” Of course, during that time I did not have the knowledge to be in that position, nor could I have ever imagined the life I would be living in the future. But since then, for the past sixteen years, I have been acquiring this knowledge.
The Bible says that Daniel was taken to the Palace; but how was Daniel at that time? Morally he was an irreproachable man. But he was still a young man who needed to acquire some knowledge to be in that place of authority. In the same manner you have received the revelation of the Cross, the “rhema” word, and you have grown in the faith. Now you need knowledge. There was a false belief for many years that if you had faith you did not need to go to college. Let me tell you that the opposite is true. I recently read a book about being the best student. This book was written by a student who pursued a brilliant career and who graduated with honours. In the book she comments about the techniques she put into practice. An important aspect she emphasizes is that in order to fully concentrate on her studies she would avoid watching TV or listening to music. Another aspect is that she would never miss a class; and before taking notes she tried to understand the idea the professor was trying to convey. She also emphasized the importance of studying something you like.
Daniel did just the same. He had faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He had to protect the people of Israel, but he also had to advise the King. Daniel had a desire to serve. He was living a life of holiness, but he did not know enough about economics, law, human relationships, speech, and the proper protocol of the Palace. He had always surrounded himself with Jewish people, and when he was serving the King he had to meet people who were not Jewish. In other words, Daniel had to go through college.
Young people, you live in a country of opportunities. You may not have to face the same obstacles your parents confronted in pursuing an education. You live in a blessed country that provides opportunities for those who take them. The Lord will give you a dream for your life, but to achieve that dream you need knowledge. Go to the best university. Do not stop going to classes because of your cell group. The Bible emphasizes that Daniel was ten times better than every one who was in the court at that time. If you are a Christian student, you must get the best grades because you have the same spirit of wisdom and grace that Daniel had. Pray the prayer of Jabez, but also pray that the knowledge, intelligence and understanding which were in Daniel will also be in you. The Lord will give you whatever you ask him for. God will support you in that great dream you have for him.
“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.” Daniel 1:20