Courageous Living: Faith Lessons from Daniel
07/20/2003 - Courageous Living When Life Lets You Down
The Bible is filled with stories that over the centuries have become so familiar that we've attached names to them, stories like Adam and Eve, Noah and the Ark, David and Goliath, Jonah and the Whale, and Daniel and the Lion's Den. Even people who haven't read the Bible have heard of Daniel and the Lion's Den.
Yet while we may know that Daniel spent a night in a den full of lions, we may not know who threw him in there and why. What evil thing did Daniel do to deserve such a fate? He must have done something pretty bad to face that kind of gruesome execution. But the truth is that Daniel did nothing wrong. In fact, Daniel was thrown into the lion's den for what he had done right! And if that sounds confusing, it should.
All of us operate with a sense of justice and fair play that says when you do something wrong you should get punished and when you do something right you should get rewarded. That sense of moral justice is part of being created in the image of a just God. It's universal and woven into our DNA.
But the problem is that we live in a world where things don't always work out that way. Do they? Sometimes the wicked prosper and get away with murder, while those who do good suffer and get punished in some way. And when that happens something inside of us wants to cry, "Foul. That's just not fair!"
This week I received a shocking e-mail from friends of mine in Chicago. A few months ago they moved into a church owned parsonage where they were going to live while the wife became the children's ministry director at the church. But after about three months the mother and the father and their two young boys all started to get sick. They came down with breathing problems and stomach ailments and didn't know why.
Then one day a plumber came out to the house to do some work and discovered that behind the walls the place was filled with two kinds of toxic mold that had infected the family and caused permanent lung damage to their one year-old son. They couldn't believe it!
They had a mold expert test the house and he declared it uninhabitable and advised them to get rid of all their belongings. Mold spores had tainted everything they owned and they had no insurance to cover it. All their stuff needed to be trashed.
With no place to go, the wife and two kids moved back to Ohio to live with her parents while the husband is living in an extended stay hotel finishing his job in Chicago. When he's done he'll rejoin his family and start all over looking for a new job in a strange town. It's a horrible situation! Where's the justice in that? There is none.
Life is not fair. Don't expect it to be. That could have happened to anyone of us. They didn't deserve that. Where's God when that happens? Did he check out on that family? Did he abandon them? No. He's walking with them through that horrible situation just like he's going to walk with Daniel through the horrible situation that he's about to face himself.
This morning we continue our summer series called Courageous Living: Faith Lessons from Daniel with a teaching I've called "Courageous Living When Life Lets You Down." If you have a Bible turn to Daniel 6.
Last week we looked at Daniel 3 and learned some faith lessons from Daniel's three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Daniel wasn't in that story, perhaps because he was out of town on business when Nebuchadnezzar set up that golden image and ordered everyone to bow down to it. But he's back today with another lesson for us on how to live courageously for God.
By the time we get to Daniel 6 the Babylonian empire has fallen. Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2 has come true. Another kingdom has arisen. Nebuchadnezzar is gone, but not before he became a believer in the God of Israel. Daniel 4 records his dramatic conversion and Daniel 5 records the "handwriting on the wall' and the events that happened the night the Babylonians fell to the Medes and the Persians.
So as the curtain rises on chapter 6 Daniel finds himself working for a new king, a man named Darius. Look at Daniel 6:1, It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss.
Right away we see that Darius has a different leadership style than Nebuchadnezzar, which is why his kingdom outgrew that of the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar was a dictator. He held his kingdom on a short leash. He didn't trust anybody, not even his advisors.
Darius, on the other hand, was a delegator. He decentralized his government and divided his kingdom among 120 representatives who in turn would answer to three top administrators, one of whom was Daniel.
By this time Daniel was at least 80 years old. He's lived a long life. And he's tired. He'd love to retire to Florida and just play golf. He'd served under seven different kings starting with Nebuchadnezzar, then his sons and son-in-laws, his grandson, Belshazzar, and now Darius. He'd seen a lot of stuff and been around the block a few times. Yet through it all he had maintained a vibrant faith and a squeaky clean reputation. You have to admire the man!
Look at verse 3, Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
Even at 80 years of age, Daniel stands head and shoulders above his peers. He's the shining star in Darius' kingdom. He stands out so much that the king wants to appoint him president, prime minister of his empire. And that made some people very angry.
Look at verse 4, At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.
Daniel wasn't perfect. But he was what the Bible calls "above reproach." The tabloids couldn't find anything wrong with him. He was a man of integrity and moral purity. His work ethic was second to none. He had a winsome personality, a zest for life, and an infectious faith. And his political enemies hated him for it. They followed him around, bugged his office, tapped his phone, hacked his computer trying to find some dirt on Daniel. But each time they came up empty. When they looked at his personal and professional life they could find nothing.
Until we come to verse 5, 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."
Can you imagine someone doing a thorough investigation of your life, the kind of scrutiny that we put public figures through, covering every conceivable area including your family, your education, your job, your finances, your tax records, your relationships, your portfolio, your sexual history and after turning over every rock coming to the conclusion that you are man or a woman who honors God above all else? You're the real deal
That's the kind of scrutiny Daniel was subjected to and his enemies concluded that the only way they could destroy this man was by going after his religious convictions. Which brings us to our first insight on courageous living. Courageous living will cause us to shine for God.
People who honor God above all else in their every day lives are going to be something special. They're going to have different attitudes and unique values and uncommon relationships. They're going to talk differently and walk differently and work differently. They're going to be downright different.
Like Daniel, if you honor God above all else you're going to shine. It just works that way because the world we live in is so dark with so many people dishonoring God. You can't help but stand out. And the end result is that God always gets the glory. The people around you will eventually find out what makes you tick. And God is glorified through people who honor him.
I had to laugh this week when Jennifer told me what happened at one of my son's baseball games. He's been playing a lot of baseball this summer. One day he had a tripleheader, three games, back to back to back. Fortunately they won all three, which made it bearable. So I've been spending a lot of time sitting in dugouts watching him play.
I was in there this week and in between innings one of the coaches walked over to the parents in the bleachers and said, "I don't know if I like it when Bruce is in the dugout." They said, "Why not?" He said, "Well, when he's in there I really gotta' watch my language." And one of the moms said, "Why do think we like to have him in there!?"
Sometimes we think that to honor God we have to do something really spectacular, like preach a sermon and perform a miracle. We don't. It's the little things, like the words we say or don't say, the attitudes we have or don't have, the values we express, the way we do our work, handle our money, treat people that make an impact and bring glory to God.
Honor God above all else, not just for your sake, but for God's sake and for the sake of a watching world. Daniel was being watched and so are you, especially if you're a parent, which is a scary thought. Others are watching to see if you're the real deal. And if you are they'll be drawn to your God. You don't have to be perfect. Daniel wasn't perfect. But he had an authentic relationship with God that expressed itself in a life of integrity.
And because of that King Darius looked at Daniel as a jewel. And the people in the empire saw him as a shining star. But his peers viewed him as a thorn in their side.
Look at verse 6, So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said, "O King Darius, live forever! 7 The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed (except Daniel, of course) that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown in the lions' den.
"King Darius, you're such a great king. You're so wonderful that we think you should be God of the month! And you should make a law that anybody who prays to anyone but you for the next thirty days should be thrown to the lions. What do you say, O King?" And without thinking the king signs the decree. He let's his pride get the best of him.
Look at verse 8, " Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered-in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed." 9 So King Darius put the decree in writing.
Which brings us to our second insight on courageous living. Courageous living will not keep us from the injustice of life.
You read these verses and you want to shout, "Foul! Wait a minute! That's not fair! These guys can't do that. Daniel's been doing a great job. He's been faithful. You can't do that to him." But they did it and nobody said it was fair, because life's not fair. In fact, life is often downright cruel, even to those who honor God above all else, even to those who live under God's protective care. We are not immune or sheltered from the injustice and cruelty of life.
Recently, I received an e-mail from a woman who was telling me her story of life's injustice. About 2 ½ years ago both she and her husband got very sick. She was worse and missed about four months of work. Her first doctor didn't have a clue how to treat her, so she prayed for a doctor who knew what he was doing. Soon after she came under the care of a second doctor, whom she thought was sent by God, but after 15 months of treatment and thousands of dollars of drugs and vitamins she only got weaker while her doctor got richer. She's now under the care of a third doctor who finally seems to know what he's doing. But what's up with that? That's not fair! She didn't deserve that!
And in her e-mail she writes, "My relationship with the Lord has been stunted and although he has shown me how much he loves me in the little things, I feel like when I needed him the most and had my back up against the wall he let me down big time! Since then I've come to understand that bad things do happen to Christians. But how do I re-establish a relationship with the Lord and trust him when I feel so betrayed by him?"
Life isn't fair, is it? But God is not the one to blame. Sick people get misdiagnosed and mistreated. Unsuspecting families loss their house and all their possessions because of mold infestation. Healthy babies die in the womb one month before they're born. Eighty-six year old men hit the gas instead of the brake and kill ten people in a crowded Santa Monica market. A fourth year medical student goes out for a Sunday jog and gets strangled. Innocent kids get abducted and abused every single day.
It isn't right! It isn't fair! But our world is filled with evil and unspeakable horror. And one reason is because we live in a fallen world where sin abounds and where we get hit by the shrapnel.
Another reason is because there's an evil one that prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. And if you need to get angry with someone, get angry with him. Because the more we want to make a difference for God the bigger the target gets on our back. The stakes get higher for the committed follower of Christ. The evil one was behind this plot to kill Daniel because the guy had done too much damage for the kingdom.
Whatever the reason, stuff happens and God's children are not immune to it, not even those who honor God like Daniel did. But in the midst of it all God gives us three promises, three certainties that we can take to the bank. The first is that God is with us. Hebrews 13:5, I will never leave you or forsake you.
The second is that God will bring good out of it. Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
And the third is that God will not put us through more than we can bear. 1 Corinthians 10:13, God is faithful. He will not let you be tested beyond what you can bear. But when you are tested, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Now look at 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.
Daniel's got a decision to make. He's heard about the decree banning prayer, so what's he going to do? He's got several options. He could stop praying for a month. After all, the man's walked with God for 70 years, what's thirty days? Or he could keep praying in secret, pull the shades, lock the doors, go in the bathroom, pray silently, and nobody would ever know. Or he could go out in a blaze of glory. Go to the busiest street corner in Babylon, stand on a soapbox, plug in a microphone, and pray until they put him in handcuffs. He could make a bold statement for God, get his face on television, and make himself a martyr.
So what does he do? None of those things. Instead, he does what he always does. He goes back home, looks out the window, gets down on his knees and prays like nothing's happened. He prays the same way he always has, like there is no injunction.
And right here we find the secret to Daniel's strength, the secret to courageous living. And that was his routine walk with God. Daniel could do some big, dramatic things because of the little, routine things he did every day. Which brings us to our third insight on courageous living. Courageous living is directly related to our walk with God.
How did Daniel survive living in a pagan, godless society like ours? He survived by maintaining a daily walk with God. It was his practice to stop everything three times a day and talk to God. For him, looking toward Jerusalem, was a reminder that he was a citizen of another kingdom and not just the Babylonian kingdom. He was part of God's kingdom and took his orders from God.
Week after week we've been marveling at Daniel's courage. As a teenager he challenges the most powerful man on the planet and says, "I can't eat that food." Later he has the courage to say to Nebuchadnezzar, "I'll tell you that dream and I'll give you the interpretation." Now he's praying in the face of death. You see for Daniel a life without prayer was a life not worth living. His walk with God meant everything to him. It made him who he was. "Take that away and you might as well kill me."
You see, there are no shortcuts or quick fixes to living courageously for God, because the strength comes from God himself. And we tap into his strength through a consistent walk with him. Don't let the injustices and cruelties of life rob your walk with God. That's what Satan would love to do. He would love to use the hurts of life to get us angry with God so that we stop talking to God. And when that happens, guess who wins? He does. You lose.
Did you notice what the text says in verse 11? Daniel prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. Giving thanks to God that he's going to die for having his devotions? What's up with that?
I'd be praying, "God, why? Why would you allow this to happen to me? I've been so faithful over all these years and this is how my life is going to end as dinner for a bunch of lions. You let me down big time!"
You know what I think Daniel would say if he were here today. He'd probably say, "What do you expect from a bunch of people who nothing about God's grace? I'm amazed I made to 80, outlived six kings. I'm surprised this stuff didn't catch up to me sooner. I don't think it's fair, but it fits the world we live in. God is still God and I will still trust him."
How do we live courageously when life let's us down? We go home and we pray. And we draw strength from a God who promises that he is with us, that he won't put us through more than we can bear, and that he will bring triumph out of tragedy. And there's only one way I know to maintain that perspective and that is through a daily walk with God. That was the secret to Daniel's strength. And that's the secret to our strength as well. Come back next week and see how the story ends.