Day Twenty: Daniel – Living Fearlessly
Today’s Reading: Hebrews 11:33; Daniel 6:1-28
Introduction: Daniel is another truly remarkable man of faith. He is so well known that the writer to the Hebrews can simply say this hero of the faith “shut the mouths of lions” (Hebrews 11:33), and we know exactly who it is. Daniel lived during some of Israel’s darkest days. He was among the captives who were taken from Judah when Babylon conquered them. Even in that pagan place, God had a plan in which Daniel would play a crucial role. As Daniel advanced in his role under Darius, king of Babylon, other government officials became jealous and sought to destroy him. They attempted to use his faith against him to trap him and get him killed. It seemed to work. During the thirty-day period when the people of Babylon were required to only make requests of Darius, Daniel persisted in praying to God three times a day. His enemies used this to force the king to have him thrown into the den of lions for execution. Daniel survived that treachery. In fact, the evil that Daniel’s enemies intended against him actually happened to them and their families. But there is more to this than reversal of fortunes. Because of Daniel’s fearless commitment to remain faithful to God even in the midst of such evil, we’re told that King Darius acknowledged the sovereignty of God and issued a decree for his entire kingdom to “tremble before the God of Daniel” (Daniel 6:26).
Application: Daniel’s faithfulness to God serves as a reminder to us that we should never compromise our faith and our calling from God. The edict that Daniel’s enemies had issued seemed fairly harmless. It just required people not to pray to their god for thirty days. Many people probably figured they could refrain from prayer for thirty days and then just return to their prayers afterward. Daniel, however, refused to let this prevent him from keeping his time with God. We should, as well, commit to making God supreme in our lives. Nothing should prevent us from fulfilling our obligations to Him and spending time with Him, even for a short period of time. The God we serve is quite capable of protecting us from any repercussions. Indeed, we might just find that our faithfulness to God in times of persecution will be the very thing that God will use to show Himself strong on behalf of His people.
Prayer: Dear Lord, I call You Lord for good reason. My flesh can be weak, though. Help me remain faithful to You and Your calling on my life, not only when it is easy and profitable, but especially when it is hard and costly. I thank You for the blessing of knowing You. Please help me to be faithful to the privilege of demonstrating my love for You especially when it might require great personal sacrifice. Amen.