… he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.
(Daniel 6:10, NKJV)
Have you ever tried so hard to make something work yet even after a long time, the results were not as expected? I have found myself there. There are times we want something so badly and we give it our all. As we wait and keep pushing, our strength wanes and at times, even our hope fails to keep us on the task. We might even have prayed and believed for it, yet the results betray what we had committed to the anticipated success. Moments like this do not just leave us tired and emotionally deflated, and if we are not careful, we lose the vision that we had held on to. Beloved, when these are experiences of our natural life, it is also true that how we end up will be heavily dependent on where we had placed our hope. It is possible that our premise for success was based on another human being; on our own strength and might or in God. The basis of our hope will greatly influence the impact of our unsatisfied expectation.
Our reference verse comes from the story of Daniel where the king had issued a decree for all to worship a royal statute. The decree demanded that anyone who worshipped any other deity would be punished. Daniel, who was one of the governors of the kingdom, knew of this decree by the king, yet we read that he continued to pray and give thanks to God as was his custom. The law by king Darius to worship the statute did not change Daniel’s routine of worshipping the King eternal, three times a day. The leaders knew that Daniel had this routine and so they hatched a plan to destroy him. It is from this account that we then read of Daniel being thrown in the den of lions, but the lions did not eat him. The outcome of what was expected to be Daniel’s end, was that the conspirators lost their lives and the king decreed that throughout the kingdom, all must fear the God of Daniel as the living God (Daniel 6: 22-27). This is a powerful account where we celebrate God’s might and power to protect His people. It also challenges us to consider the life and faithfulness of Daniel towards to his God. Daniel knew that there was conversation to have people worship the statute, and he maybe even prayed to God daily asking that this would not be allowed, yet in the end, the decree was established. Even with what would appear like an unanswered prayer, Daniel remained faithful and persistent to his tradition of prayer three times a day. He did not waiver from his faith despite the danger that it presented, following the king’s decree.
Daniel knew the danger he was exposing himself too, but his faith in God was so firm that he chose to obey God rather than the king. This is the challenge of our daily lives, when we are confronted by situations which question our faith or suggest that there is another way of doing things. Beloved, the bible tells us that we must always exalt the Lord in our hearts, always being prepared to give a defense for our faith and hope in God (1 Peter 3:15). Our position of faith is not to be influenced by the whims of life but has to remain steadfast in what God has revealed to us in His word. It is the expectation of God that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we remain resolute in our walk of faith regardless of the circumstances. We are reminded to remain steadfast under trial (James 1:12), even as we press toward the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:13-14). Like many others, I confess that there are times I have played the compromise game, and today we are reminded that like Daniel, we must remain faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10). It is very encouraging that Daniel’s choice though dangerous on his part, finally led to the lifting of his God throughout the kingdom, the king decreed that Daniel’s God is the living God. The outcome which had initially seemed like a disappointment of faith, ended up as a magnificent exaltation of God. That is what our persistence in faith will yield, a revering of our God. It is not in vain that we remain steadfast in faith.
Thoughts:
What is your reflection of this message?
Where have you remained steadfast in faith?
What had caused you to compromise you stand in faith?