Whatever He Says

The people who wanted to trap Daniel knew they could count on him to be consistent in his walk with God. They knew he would rather be thrown to the lions than conform to sin. When will I learn to do the same because that is what it means to be a disciple. The same message comes to the servants in the first miracle where Mary leaves her final statement – “whatever He says to you, do it.” [I shared some of this in my guest blog, 66Books. Look under Daniel 7-9; John 2; Psalm 137 or my name evanlaar 1922.]

Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” – Daniel 6:5  ESV

These other leaders who were jealous of Daniel searched for dirt but he was found to be clean. Daniel walked as a faithful disciple in an unfaithful land. What a challenge to me to walk faithful no matter what land I live in but especially if I am in a place where there are those who seek to discredit me, where people have to go after the God I serve. I ask myself this question – if someone set out to find a complaint about me, how hard would they have to look? What would they find?

The goal is clear – eliminate Daniel’s influence, pivot from assassinating his character to attacking his relationship to God and His law. The lion’s den becomes the consequence of a choice – I have a choice and there are consequences too.

When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. Then they came near and said before the king, concerning the injunction, “O king! Did you not sign an injunction, that anyone who makes petition to any god or man within thirty days except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing stands fast, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked.” Then they answered and said before the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.”

Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared^[l] to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!”  And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel.  Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. – Daniel 6:10-18  ESV

Not the same as what his three friends went through earlier, but the tension and tempation to simply compromise and conform to the changing culture was still there. If I were Daniel I might be thinking these thoughts:

• Exile is almost over – another ten years and I am going home – why rock the boat – fit in, stay low, it’s almost over.
• I am in line for some heavy promotions, even Presidency, why mess such a good thing up. It will make the next ten years go by quickly and I will have more money to set myself up back home.
• Imagine what I could do as a leader – with so many years of credibility and faithfulness I can take a break when it really matters and when I can be of most use to my people.

A friend and I were having coffee this morning and this was our thought and we backed it up with five verses quite easily:

” My faith isn’t something I deposit, it is something deposited into me by God.”

What is Daniel teaching me? To be less concerned with my personal comfort or ambition than to keep my relationship with God strong. I like the fact that he did not lead a protest or rebellion, he does not even seek to get the law changed. He simply continues to pray – regular intentional prayer. He is a disciplined disciple. Questions I have to ask myself – how easy is it for me to abstain from regular spiritual disciplines, how do I define my current pattern of prayer, bible reading, gathering with the church, serving?

My heart skips a beat right here – with all the Christians who hardly practice any of these disciplines, when they become outlawed or we are called to obstain from them by the government, are they all going to stand up and be faithful to them when it is something we have never put into practice? Faithfulness doesn’t begin when things are difficult – it is revealed during times of trial. Daniel’s model revealed that when he prayed, he was thanking God. For what – for being ready to be thrown into the lion’s den? No, for the fact that God does not change and at the same time he is asking God to engage in the situation, for Him to display His power and faithfulness to His people.

So thankful for Daniel – he makes a difference in how I see what a follower of Jesus looks like.