115 of 365 - Faithfulness

​So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. Daniel 6:23b
 
A new king emerges on the scene and Daniel (for the second time) is summoned to interpret dreams. With all of Daniel’s knowledge, he recognizes that it is limited and he needs to lean on the wisdom and understanding of God. Daniel always gives God the glory, acknowledging everything he knows and can do is only because it was given to him by God. He never tries to take the credit or seek glory for himself. In all of his ways, Daniel points to God.
 
Daniel is rewarded greatly by the king for his unique abilities to rightly know and interpret dreams. This may sound like a great thing for Daniel, but….
 
…the rest of the people in the king’s inner circle are raging with jealousy. They are on a mission to find a crack in Daniel’s character; anything to get him out of the picture for good, but they can find nothing. The only thing they know they can count on is how unwaveringly faithful to God Daniel is, so they seek to catch him there. What if the only thing people could find against us was our faithfulness to God?
 
The king’s men come up with a plan to have the king issue an ordinance that anyone who pays homage to a god other than the king should be thrown into the lion’s dens. They were certain Daniel would not cease praying to God. They were certain they had him!
 
As expected, Daniel stays firm in his faith, despite knowing the consequences. To the lion’s den he must go!
 
But it wasn’t Daniel’s time to die. God sends angels to close the mouths of the lions and protect Daniel. May we strive to be like Daniel, a faithful example of obedient living and trusting God in all things, from wisdom to protection.
 
Questions: Have you ever felt punished in some way by peers for staying firm in your faith? How hard is it to stay firm and do the right thing when you know there will be worldly consequences?