Courageous Living: Faith Lessons from Daniel
07/27/2003 - Courageous Living Pays Off
God why? Why this? Why now? Why am I in this situation? Why couldn't it be different? Why do things like this always happen to me? Why can't my life be like so and so? Why has God allowed this to happen? I'm pretty sure that most of us have asked one of those questions at some time or another usually on the heels of some trial, test or tragedy.
I can remember my first "God Why?" experience. It happened when I was 16 years old driving home from swim practice in northeast Philadelphia on a rainy July night. I was minding my own business, behind the wheel of my 1969 Volkswagen beetle when I was T-boned at an intersection by a full sized Ford station wagon going about 50 mph.
The accident knocked me unconscious and the next thing I knew I was being pried out of my totaled car and taken to a local hospital where I would spend the next month in traction and then another nine weeks after that in a full body cast. Not exactly the way I was planning to spend the summer between my junior and senior year in high school. And I can remember lying in that hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling wondering, "God why? Why this? Why now? Why me?"
I was training hard that summer with the goal of getting a college swimming scholarship and a having a car accident was not on my agenda. But it was on God's agenda. And it was the first time I had to seriously grapple with the question, "Can I really trust God with my life?"
Sooner or later all of us will taste the harsh realities of life, because, as Jesus said, in this world you will have trouble. Even those who walk with God and who honor God above all else will have trouble. No one is exempt from life's injustice. Not even someone as godly and as faith filled as Daniel.
This week a woman in the church sent me a homespun story in response to last week's teaching on "Courageous Living When Life Let's You Down."
One day a teenage daughter was telling her Mother how everything in her life was going wrong. She was failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend was moving away. Meanwhile, her Mother who was baking a cake in the kitchen at the time asked her daughter if she would like a snack.
She said, "Absolutely, Mom, I love your cake."
So her Mother said, "Here, have some cooking oil."
"Yuck, I don't want that!"
"How about a couple of raw eggs?"
"Gross, Mom!"
"Maybe you'd like some flour or some baking soda?"
"No way!"
Then her Mother said, "All those things seem bad all by themselves, don't they? But when they're put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! God works the same way. Many times we wonder why he would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when he puts these things all in his order, they always work together for good. We just have to trust him to make something wonderful."
That's another way of saying what we concluded last week and that is that when we go through tough times God is with us, God will bring good out of it, and God will not put us through more than we can bear. This morning we continue our series called Courageous Living: Faith Lessons from Daniel with a teaching I've called "Courageous Living Pays Off."
If you have a Bible turn to Daniel 6. Remember last week Daniel was the target of a set up. His peers had tricked King Darius into signing a decree that they knew would cost Daniel his life. It was an injunction that prevented anyone from worshiping any god other than the king for thirty days. The king was clueless to what was going on, but he thought it would be wonderful to be the God of the month so he signed the decree. And Daniel's enemies knew that he would break it the first day it went on the books.
Let's pick up the story in verse 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.
Sure enough, Daniel broke it. Just as his enemies thought, Daniel went home and prayed just like any other day because for Daniel a life without prayer was not a life worth living. Praying was like breathing for Daniel. He'd rather be in the belly of a lion than live a life without prayer. So for him it was just another day.
Verse 11, Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.
The only difference was that this day Daniel had an audience. He was being watched. Last week we pointed out that Daniel gave thanks in verse 10. Even in this horrible situation he had an attitude of gratitude. But he also prayed for help. Daniel wasn't superman! He didn't want to die as a feast for lions. So he prayed that God would get him out of this jam. There's nothing wrong with praying for help when we're in deep weeds.
But help didn't come. Instead, look at verse 12, So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree. "Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or man except to you, O king, would be thrown into the lions' den?" The king answered, "The decree stands in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed."
The laws of the Medes and the Persians were irrevocable. Once they were written down they couldn't be repealed because the laws came from the king and the king represented the gods. And so whatever the king decreed came directly from the gods and was considered the final word.
Verse 13, Then they said to the king, "Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day."
"King Darius, remember the injunction you signed? Well, we've got some bad news for you. You know your friend Daniel, the guy you think so much of. Well, he's disobeyed you, king. He doesn't respect your authority. Even before the ink was dry on your signature, Daniel was on his knees praying to his God and not just once, but three times. Can you believe that!"
Well, how do you think Darius handles that? Probably the same way Nebuchadnezzar flipped out when he heard that the three boys weren't bowing down to his image. "You mean to tell me that Daniel, one of my top dogs, has disobeyed my personal order? You mean to tell me that Daniel won't worship me? Is that true? Then you bring him here and I'll personally throw him to the lions myself." Is that how the king reacts?
Look at verse 14, When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed. He was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.
That's not how Darius reacts. Instead, he's crushed by the news. He can't believe what's happened. All of a sudden it dawns on him that he's been had, tricked, duped. He finally realizes that he's been part of a conspiracy all along to destroy Daniel. And he's sick over it.
So Darius the king becomes Darius the defense attorney. He becomes Daniel's lawyer and spends all day trying to find a loophole that would reverse the injunction because Daniel wasn't just another government worker. Daniel was Darius' friend. They had a good relationship and he meant a lot to the king.
Verse 15, Then the men went as a group to the king and said to him, "Remember, O king, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed."
"King we know how upset you are about this whole thing. But remember the law can't be changed. You don't want to anger the gods do you?"
Verse 16 , 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!"
Did you hear that? Did you hear what the king just said? May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you! This pagan king is encouraging Daniel to have faith. Why? Because he's watched Daniel's life. He's witnessed Daniel's faith. Daniel has made an impact on this man. I wouldn't be surprised if Daniel looked back at the king and said, "What did you just say? Run that by me again!"
Darius is not some hard-hearted atheist. He's what we describe as a seeker. He's spiritually sensitive and Daniel had impacted his life. Which leads us to our first insight on courageous living. Courageous living impacts people.
We talked about it last week when we said courageous living will cause us to shine for God. And that's true. But what's also true is that we may not realize it or even ever know the impact our life has had on people. I wonder if Daniel knew? I wonder if Daniel ever thought he was making a difference as a high ranking official in a pagan culture that hadn't changed a bit in the 70 years he'd lived there. I wonder if Daniel ever dreamed that we'd still be talking about him 2,500 years later.
Have you ever wondered whether your life is having any impact on the people around you? At home? At work? At school? In the neighborhood where you live? You go to a family reunion or some other event that brings together your extended family and you wonder if your life is making a difference there.
Let me tell you. If you're walking with God and truly seeking to honor him above all else God will make sure that you make a difference. People may not tell you, but you will have an impact for Christ. That's part of God's promise in 1 Samuel 2:30, Those who honor me I will honor, says the Lord.
Don't ever underestimate the power of a courageous walk with Christ. It's the greatest tool that God has at his disposable to reach an unbelieving world. But you may go for months, maybe even years, wondering if you've had any kind of impact. I'm sure that's the way Daniel felt about Darius. But all of a sudden on the way to the lion's den, Darius tipped his hand and it took Daniel's breath away.
Look at verse 17, 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. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.
Stop right here. Daniel went into the lion's den. God didn't spare him. God didn't rescue him at the 11th hour. Daniel went in with no guarantee that he was ever coming out.
All through the chapter it seems like God has checked out, doesn't it? Where's God? God didn't stop Daniel's enemies from plotting against him. He didn't stop the king from signing the decree. He didn't make a way for the law to be reversed or for Daniel to be spared. We don't read one verse of God coming to rescue Daniel. Daniel prayed for help, but nothing happened.
Which leads us to the second insight on courageous living. Courageous living realizes that trials are often the beginning not the end of God's work.
When trials come into our lives our knee jerk reaction is to think that God has checked out. "Where's God?" we ask. "If God was really here this wouldn't have happened to me." We feel abandoned by God. We see his hand in the good times, but we question his hand in the bad times.
But really, when you think about it, it's often through trials and difficulties that God draws the nearest. Last week I received an e-mail from a woman who was on a plane with her husband headed for California. And not long after takeoff the plane had an electrical failure.
She said, "We experienced 40 minutes of sheer terror. The plane teetered from side to side, rose and fell in the air, the lights flickered, the air conditioning shut down and there was no guarantee that we would land safely. In fact, I thought for sure we were going to crash."
"All I could do was repeat the words 'please God!' I clung to my husband who kept praying and repeating verses from the Bible. And then God heard our prayer. He answered us and carried us and the other 140 passengers to safety."
She went on to say, "It was then and there that I realized the most important thing I have is my faith in the Lord. I cannot describe this renewed and glorious faith I have in the Lord since that Friday morning when that plane landed safely in Pittsburgh."
Often God let's us go through dreadful experiences to discover just how much we need him in our lives. He let's us lose control long enough to see that he is really the one in control. How many of you would say it was through an illness or the loss of a loved one or a bankruptcy or a car accident or a breakup or a divorce or a job loss that finally made you attentive to the things of God. Trials are often the door God uses to gain entrance into our lives. It's been that way in my life.
I don't like pain anymore than you do. I want my life to always be comfortable. But I love the perspective on pain that the famous author C. S. Lewis once gave when he said, "Pain insists upon being attended to. It cannot be ignored. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, and shouts to us in our pain. Pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world."
Pain will always speak louder than pleasure. We can hear God's voice in a whisper in a time of pain. But God can shout volumes in a season of pleasure and be totally ignored. God's work often begins in a time of hardship.
Our feelings can tell us that God has abandoned us. But the truth is trials are often the beginning not the end of God's work. And they provide the moments when God is the closest.
Why did God wait until Daniel was in the den to act? Why didn't he do something sooner? Because he wanted to make it obvious that he was the only one who could bring deliverance.
Sometimes God takes his good old time and leaves us in the den for a while so that it becomes real clear that he's the one who gets us out.
This week a woman wrote to tell me that her adult son had just found a job after months and months of searching. And it came less than a week before his lease was up and he'd have to move out of his apartment. God had him in the den for months before he came to the rescue. Now they're both praising God! Trials are often the beginning not the end of God's work.
Look at verse 19, At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" 21 Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! 22 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, O king."
Darius is so afraid that Daniel's dead. He couldn't sleep all night and at sunrise he runs to the den. "Daniel are you in there? Did God save you?" "You bet! I've been having a great time down here all night with the playing with the lions and the angel of God!"
Verse 23, Then 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.
Which brings us to our final insight on courageous living. Courageous living knows that God always has the last word.
The lions didn't have the last word. The king didn't have the last word. Daniel's enemies didn't have the last word. Satan himself didn't have the last word. God did! God always has the last word. God always bats last. Life can be cruel and unjust and unfair, yet the final chapter has not yet been written. In the end, God will make all things right. "Its never over till it's over," Yogi Berra once said and God will decide when that is.
The difficult times you're going through right now will end. You will get out of the lions' den. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes we go through seasons of our life when it feels just like Good Friday, everything looks black, we feel like we're hanging on a cross and God has forsaken us. But for the follower of Christ, Good Friday is always followed by Easter Sunday. Christ came to give us life and to give us hope. Don't bail out on God, because our life will not end on Good Friday. It will end on Easter Sunday with a triumphant resurrection, because God always has the last word.
It's interesting that after this story ends, the rest of the book of Daniel, chapters 7-12 is a prophecy of the last word God will have in all human history. We'll look at one of them in a few weeks. But don't give up on God. He's with you in the furnace. He's with you in the lion's den.
Look at verse 24, At the king's command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions' den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.
It's important to note that Daniel didn't make that request. It was the king's idea. It was his command in keeping with Persian law that believed in associated curses and punished families along with those who were guilty.
Verse 25, Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations and men of every language throughout the land: "May you prosper greatly! 26 I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God and he endures forever. His kingdom will not be destroyed. His dominion will never end. 27 He rescues and he saves. He performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions." 28 So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
At eighty years old Daniel prospered and went on to serve in the reign of an eighth king, Cyrus who would end up liberating the Jews and sending them back to Israel. God always has the last word. And once again we see that courageous living pays off!
As I look back on it now, I'm thankful for that car accident I had when I was 16. It was a defining moment in my life and set me on course that drew me closer to Lord. I didn't end up getting a swimming scholarship to a big time school, but I did get one to a local school and because of that stayed connected to my church throughout college and that made all the difference in my life. God was gracious enough to let me go through that pain and now I thank him for it.
Daniel didn't simply endure his trials and survive for God, he thrived for God. God is not interested in our surviving this life. He wants us to thrive for him. And we do that by honoring him above all else. Honor God in your everyday life and he will honor you for a lifetime. Courageous living does pay off. Do you have the courage to live for God?