
Day 12 – They Meant it for Evil, but God Meant it for Good
Read Daniel 6: 14 – 28
King Darius had been tricked into issuing a declaration that he was god for a month and everyone in the kingdom should bow down only to him. When the king heard about Daniel disobeying the commandment and praying to his own God, the king was very displeased. Not so much with Daniel but more with himself because he had foolishly been tricked into trapping his friend. King Darius worked all day to try and find a loophole that would permit him to rescind his order but under Persian law, there was no way out. Daniel would have to go through the trial but God was going to deliver him “because he believed in God” (verse 23).
The nature of the Christian faith marks all of us for the lions. If we are openly living our faith, we are out of step with the world and we are one step away from the lion’s den or the fiery furnace. If we are happily living our life with no trials or persecution for Christ’s sake, perhaps we are hiding our testimony so well that no one knows where we stand. If Daniel had just said “What’s the harm in not praying for thirty days? I can have more impact if I just play the long game and wait this out”, we would probably never have known anything about him. We often pray that God will save us from the difficult trial but God’s plan usually involves walking with us through the difficult trial. Daniel was not kept from the lions, but he was kept in the midst of them.
If God is good and in control, why would He ever let any of His children go through the testing of a lion’s den or a fiery furnace. In this instance, God took the lion’s den and used it for His glory and purpose. Daniel also prospered greatly after he came through the trial. God uses testing in our lives to purify us and expand our faith.
Q1. After the lion’s den incident, King Darius issued a decree recorded in Daniel 6: 26 – 27. What was the likely outcome in the kingdom of this new decree?
Q2. The sinful rulers who tried to have Daniel killed were eventually killed by their own lions. The following verses offer a good study in what happens to some who try to harm God’s anointed. (Esther 3: 1 – 6; 7: 1 – 10; Psalm 7: 14 – 16; Daniel 6: 3 -5, 11 – 13, 24; Acts 12: 1 – 23). What seems to be the motivation for these people’s actions?
Q3. God hasn’t promised we will never face difficulty. What has he promised (Read Psalm 34:7; 97:10)? What difficulties have you faced in your life and how has God kept you in the midst of them?
Final thought: Believing God does not necessarily guarantee that you will not be eaten by lions. Not every Christ follower recovers from the terminal disease even though we prayed earnestly. Our perspective is usually earthly when it clearly should be heavenly. God deserves our complete faith and trust, even when the outcome isn’t what we asked for.