"The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God." Daniel 6:23
Imagine being thrown into a den of hungry lions, left there to be devoured, only to be pulled out not only alive, but alive and untouched. Daniel's deliverance from the lions is an amazing example of God following through on His promises. God had promised that He was going to deliver the people of Israel if they obeyed His law. Daniel took God at His word and continued to obey, despite the threats of death on his life.
As I was recounting this story in scripture, my eyes were halted and focused on verse 10, I could not get past it-"...and he continued kneeling on his knees three times a day, praying and giving thanks before his God, as he had been doing previously." So, after Daniel knew his sentence of death had been signed, he continued to obey God, even knowing he was about to stare death in the face. His faith in God superseded his fear of man.
Seems almost impossible to us, doesn't it? To have the faith to stand in the face of certain death. To choose to obey instead of conceding to save one's life. To stand up to the king and say his man made rules do not supersede the law of the Lord. To open the windows and pray confidently to the God who has promised to deliver his people from harm. It can seem impossible to us because many times, we do not take the stance to hear the voice of the Lord, to recognize Him, and take Him at His word. The stance of being on our knees, fully surrendered to His will for our lives.
Why don't we find ourselves in that stance? Is it fear? Is it distrust? Is it being too busy? Is it that we might lose control? I would say yes...to all of those and more. Because we live in a world where authority seems to dictate to us what we do and how we act, we often limit God to those exact permitters, that if He is asking us to obey Him, then we are going to lose our rights and privileges. While I understand where those thoughts come from, it does not give excuse for us to live our life in disobedience, always doing what we feel would be best for us, never consulting the one who actually created us! We have humanized God so much, that we see Him the same way we do our earthly rulers, when all He wants is to GIVE to us our rights and privileges as HEIRS to His Kingdom.
Finding oneself in a modern day lions den can be terrifying. But listening to His voice, with the promise of life on the other side, far outweighs the fear. Not long ago, I heard Him say to me, "Do you trust me?"....Of course I said, "yes"....only to hear Him say, "No, do you TRUST me?" in the calmest and most comforting way. I felt my heart bow before Him with a tender "YES". That is who God is, He is our Confidence in the face of fear; He is our Yes in the middle of no; He is our Strength when we are at our weakest; He is our All when we have nothing.
Do you trust Him?....NO, do you TRUST Him??......
