Grapes

"God’s purpose is not simply to make us beautiful, plump grapes, but to make us grapes so that He may squeeze the sweetness out of us." My Utmost for His highest by Oswald Chambers.
The Question is when we are grapes being squeezed by the hand of God what is it that is coming out? Is it sweetness or is it whine. I look at my life and the difficulties that I have had though minor compared to some, my response is not usually a good one. I think of Daniel as he is taken captive by the Babylonians. Upon arriving in Babylon he is made a eunuch, forced to learn Chaldean, given a pagan name (Belshazzar), and told to change his eating habits, all for a king and nation that is not yours. Talk about being squeezed. Daniel is undergoing a great amount of pressure and the Bible tells us in Daniel 1:8 that he purposed in his heart not to defile himself. If anyone had the right to feel resentment it was Daniel and his response is purposing his heart toward his God in heaven. I cannot say I have ever been squeezed that hard, and when I am squeezed my response is not that of Daniel’s. God squeezes us so that the sweetness comes out and we can then be poured out as a drink offering. Too often instead of sweetness coming out I tend to let out whine. “But God I wanted to….” “Why me God?” Does this sound familiar? Oh how I pray for the faithfulness of Daniel. The amazing part about Daniel’s story is that because he purposed in his heart to follow after God, God granted him favor with the chief eunuch (Daniel 1:9) and was able to keep from eating the kings meat and drinking the kings wine. If we will just be obedient to God and purpose in our hearts as Daniel did, God will make a way for us to be obedient. Even in what looks like an impossible situation we must remember that God is bigger than our little problems and can work through them so that we can honor and glorify Him. We are grapes in the hand of the Almighty God, and every now and again He will begin to squeeze us and add pressure. When He squeezes He is attempting to release the sweetness that is inside of you. He desires to pour you out as a drink offering. Because of Daniel’s obedience he gains favor with king Nebuchadnezzar and is promoted to ruler of the Babylon province. So my question to you is what will you do when the Lord begins to squeeze your life? Will He get sweetness out of you or will it be whining.
“Lord will you make me like your servant Daniel. I pray that I can respond to pressure in a way that would honor and glorify You. Help me to purpose my heart after You and Your precepts. It is my desire to follow after You with my whole heart and live a life that brings You glory. I know and believe that You are a sovereign God that is in control of all things may I be Your servant that is able and willing to go no matter what the calling and no matter what the cost. Amen”