Have you ever suffered unjustly? Have you felt attacked by others? Have you been overwhelmed by life circumstances, and it seems like there is no way out? You have done what you thought was right but you still seem to be going through many hardships. Maybe you are trying to trust God, but it doesn’t seem like He will come through for you.
I know the feeling of suffering and thinking, “God, why haven’t you changed this situation?” “God, I didn’t deserve this, why is this happening?”
One day while seeking God with these thoughts, I found encouragement from the story of Daniel. Daniel was a man in the Bible who was well liked by King Darius. He had integrity, was honest, trustworthy, and pure. The favor of God was upon Daniel’s life, and he was able to advance in the kingdom. However-this brought on jealousy and there were a group of people determined to be against him.
Daniel 6:3-5 :
Daniel so distinguished himself … by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel …but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”
These men knew that Daniel loved God, so they convinced King Darius to make a law that no one was allowed to pray for the next 30 days, unless they prayed to the king. If anyone disobeyed this, they would be thrown to the lions. Do you think Daniel stopped praying to his God? Of course not…his response is one of true faith, loyalty, and courage:
Daniel 6:10 “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.”
Daniel purposely prayed where there was open windows. He was unashamed, unafraid, and did not let what was happening shake his faith or scare him into hiding his dedication to God. He was bold and was operating from a standpoint of faith!
So of course, Daniel faced the consequences….
Daniel 6:16-17
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.
Daniel had to depend on God during this time. The Bible does not say how Daniel felt. Perhaps he pleaded with God to save him, perhaps he broke down in that den. We can only imagine how someone would truly act in that situation.
The story doesn’t say that he complained because he was put there unjustly. He didn’t fight and try to stop it from happening. He accepted the consequence , and at this time his faith was being severely tested. Would he die at the hand of lions? Or would his God come through and save him?
The next morning, the king went to check the den to see if Daniel was still alive….
Daniel 6:21-23:
Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel,and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.”
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.
As the story ends, we see that Daniel was rescued by God. God came through and worked on His behalf. God showed, as He has time and time again, that He is faithful.
So what does Daniel have to do with your life story?
Could it be that you are suffering in this moment -not because you necessarily did something wrong, but because your faith is being tested? Did you know that when you pass those faith tests, you actually become stronger?
When you choose to trust God instead of complain about what is happening to you, you allow God to work in your situation. Often we cannot get out of a situation because we keep dwelling on it and speaking negative things about it, allowing ourselves to be discouraged. When actually, God wants us to TRUST HIM with it. God wants us to speak faith. God wants us to know He WILL come through for us.
Sometimes it takes being thrown in a pit to find God and learn those types of lessons. Your faith in God is what will pull you out of that pit! Keep on believing ! He is not done with you yet. God will show up on time for you. He will deliver you. He will rescue you.
God delights in showing His people who He is. He just wants us to believe Him. He wants us to believe that He is who He says He is! Over and over in the Bible, there are stories that demonstrate God’s power and His desire for His people to truly trust Him and believe. The Word tells us to stop striving, and know that He is God.
Fight in prayer instead of fighting the situation on your own. Instead of relying on your own understanding, your own wisdom, your own plan, begin to rely on God. You cannot rescue yourself, you need to let Him do it.
Put down your sword, your anger, your pride, and stop fighting against God. The only way through certain situations is to lay them down and let Him fight for you. You can get a lot further in life once you begin to trust Him instead of yourself.
What would have happened if Daniel tried to fight those lions? Imagine if he tried to close their mouths all on his own. Would we have a different outcome of this story? Of course we would. You see, Daniel had to understand he was no competition for those lions. They were much larger and stronger than Him. He had no choice but to rely on His God, the only One who could save Him.
There is only one God who can save you, who can help you, who can rescue you out of whatever situation is going on in your life right now that is too much for you to bear. Do you know this God? Do you truly believe He can do the impossible? Do you want to know Him and begin to believe that?
Then I encourage you to open the Word of God for yourself, study more about Daniel, and let it strengthen your faith. The Bible was written for us to grow , for us to learn about the character of God, and for us to learn how to live life on earth while preparing for eternity. Ask God to show you more stories in his Word that you can learn from, more stories that can speak to your situation.
God longs to speak to you, He waits for you to welcome Him in, He longs to draw near to you and show you His love. He is worthy to be trusted. Believe in that today.
Lori Beth 