Sunday Scripture: Daniel in the Den of Lions

Daniel 6:1-3 "It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom." What a phenomenal teaser to get us more excited about WHO Daniel is and WHAT his history with the king must look like! (Kyle read some great stuff out loud from Chapter 5 at this point)

Daniel 6:4 "At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent." At this moment I thought of the way we may act when another is being used by God in ways that are extraordinary. So extraordinary that we may find it tempting to wish less than God's blessing on them simply out of selfishness and insecurity. A dear friend of mine is being so incredibly blessed in what she is doing with her new business. She has been obedient to the Lord and His work is being furthered - hence the amazing experiences that she's having! If I, for a moment, were less than excited for what she's going through because I also am in the beginning stages of building my business I would neglect all that God is doing with ME and MY obedience! Oh what I would miss out on if I didn't jump with her in her joy! These men must have missed out on such joy while conceiving a plan to kill Daniel! Oi... hindsight was 20/20 -- you'll see...

Daniel 6:5-9 speaks to the detail with which the plan to kill Daniel was carried out. It was so deceitful and wicked. A decree was put into place that anyone praying to anyone other the the king himself must be put to death. Unbeknownst to the king, he had just signed Daniel's death certificate and would soon realize the wickedness of his satraps and administrators.

Daniel 6:10 "Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before." Daniel's response to the decree was to go to God FIRST. Not only did he go to God first, he did what he'd always done - just as he had done before - and prayed in front of the windows to his God. He didn't see the decree or the death threat as a 'sign' from God that he should refrain from prayer! No! He saw that in his God's presence was the best place to be regardless of the consequence! How often do you and I try to find a 'sign' from the Lord as to why we shouldn't serve Him in a certain way? How often does it somehow correlate to our 'comfort'? Why would God take into account our 'comfort' when we've so twisted and tweaked the idea of comfort to fit our human way of life? Not only that, but wouldn't it be easy to consider our affect on those who don't know Christ as more important than our time with Christ?! I feel like this is so much of what the 'church' does now... oh, if we don't meet the masses where they're at then they won't hear the gospel... if we put a halt on all that we've done thus far to just seek the Lord what about the lost?... I do the same thing at times! Don't you?! Shouldn't Daniel have thought about the lost in his absence? What if he died... then wouldn't he be less effective?!

GOD DOESN'T NEED YOU. GOD DOESN'T NEED ME.

Daniel 6:11 "Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help." Daniel was requesting of the Lord to help him. I automatically assumed that he would ask God for help such as 'save me from death' as opposed to 'give me strength to stand up under the ridicule and give me peace as I meet my death'. Who knows what Daniel was praying in the moment that 'these men' found him. My assumptions of how those closest to the Lord respond in worship to Him somehow always shock me into humility and a new way of thinking.

Daniel 6:16 "So the king gave the order (and oh his heart was so downcast as he was TRICKED into signing this decree), and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, who you serve continually, rescue you!" Kyle brought up how awesome it was that the king did not assume any power to be credited to Daniel but only to the God Daniel serves daily! Do we worship God in such a way that others know that its Him who has the power, not us?! When other [Christians] pat us on the back for our obedience to the Lord, how do we respond? Do we do a good job of 'deflecting' the praise and offering our gratitude to the Lord in that moment for the work He's done through us? What does it look like to worship God in this way?

Daniel 6:17 "A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed." Can you imagine the sorrow at the moment for the king? The remorse? The guilt that he was so unaware of the deceit going on? He had to commit himself to what he chose whether the outcome was comfortable or not. Wow... I hadn't thought about this yesterday when I read it. He was the KING! But his commitment to his word was trustworthy and he could not go back. (read Daniel 6:18-19)

Daniel 6:20-22 "When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, 'Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?'
Daniel answered, 'O king, live forever! My God sent his angels, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have no hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king." Can you imagine (think in our day and age and NOT in your bible mentality) what it must be like to see God rescue in this way? I wondered while I read this if the king walked to the den the next morning assuming that Daniel was alive but apprehensive in the case that his faith might make him a fool... or did he come in anguish that he had sent a young man so innocent to his death... what was his state? And what must it have been like for him to hear Daniel's lively voice shout from the den?! Oh HOW AWESOME! And oh how much more amazing than if Daniel would have prayed in quiet and continued to live his life in the king's courts hoping to shine the light of God into the king's life?! Do you understand what I'm saying? Daniel's desire to be in God's presence in spite of the death threat was what allowed God to use Daniel to SEAL the king's love for God! AWESOME AND AMAZING AND WONDERFUL AND OH SO CONVICTING.

Daniel 6:26-27 "I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.
For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.
He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." Yeah... I just want to be in the presence of the Lord. He does good things when I am obedient and focused on Him. Holy moly! And entire kingdom decreed to follow the God of Daniel! God is good. His design is flawless even when it looks so messy.

... not to mention all the other men and their wives and children were thrown into the lions' den as a result. In Daniel 6:24 it says "and before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones."

I will trust in you oh God and find my rest in You alone. You are my comfort and You meet every need.