Daniel 6

That’s a cute story, isn’t it? Daniel in the lion’s den. For those raised in the church, hardly a year went by when we didn’t hear this story taught in Sunday School, and for those who didn’t go to church when they were kids, the story is still well-known. Daniel kept safe through the night, surrounded by lions. It’s a thrilling story, a story that brings back good memories of flannelgraph and children’s story books.

But this story isn’t so warm and cozy and cuddly when we are the ones in the lion’s den. We like to hear the story, outside of the danger. The story only brings good memories when we’re on the outside of the lion’s den looking in. But when we’re the ones in the cage, when we and the lions are on the same side of the bars, this story takes on a whole new meaning. The story of Daniel and the lions becomes more real. There is more at stake, and we hope, we hope that our story ends up the same as Daniel’s story, safe and sound with no teeth marks to show for it.

Because the lions show up in many different forms. The roars sound different, the teeth look different, but the danger of getting eaten up is the same. Living in exile, away from home, living in this broken world where evil invades everything, the possibility of pain is everywhere. When you are a Christian, and you look like a Christian, and you sound like a Christian, you can expect to be threatened and intimidated and yes, sometimes, to get hurt. Sometimes, the threats and pain come from other people, and sometimes the threats and pain come from the devil himself. Sometimes we can see the enemies, and sometimes the enemy is hiding. But the threats and pain are just as real and just as frightening.

And there are times when we wonder what the purpose of it all is. I mean, if Jesus died and rose again, and we believe this, then we have received eternal life. Jesus has taken the punishment for our sin. So then, why do we need to stay living in exile? Why do we need to go through the pain? Is there a purpose to our suffering, is there a reason for our grief?

The answer is, yes. God uses us to draw others to Himself. God teaches them, through our lives, about His work of salvation, His plan to fix this world. God uses us in many different ways, through acts of kindness, through words of encouragement. He uses us as we talk about Jesus. He uses us as we help carry a burden. But nothing affects people more than when they see God’s care for His suffering people. Nothing sends the message of salvation more clearly than when God gives His people the strength to make it through tough times. The tougher the times, the clearer the message. The greater the danger, the more people notice, and the more people believe.

There is a belief that when we believe in God, our lives will get better. Many believe that when we become Christians, our businesses go better, we stay healthier, we make more money, our lives are just happier. But that’s not what really happens, does it? We know, from our own experience as believers, that life isn’t always happy. Steve Brown, a writer and professor, says it works just the opposite. He says:

For every unbeliever that loses a job, a Christian loses a job, so that the world can see the difference. For every unbeliever that develops cancer, a Christian develops cancer, so that the world can see the difference.

While we live in exile, God works, through His Holy Spirit, to redeem and refine this broken world.

And Daniel’s world was broke. Like we saw last week, God’s people had been taken into exile. They were far away from home. Families had been separated. They lived in the middle of people with strange customs and strange language. The people dressed different, they had different values.

But in the middle of the strange darkness, in the alien, foreign land, look, there’s a light shining. 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.

Daniel had shown something, something in the way he talked, something in what he said, just something about him that made him stood out. But understand, that something wasn’t Daniel’s idea. He didn’t set out to make himself stand out. He didn’t come up with wise sayings or smart ideas or good ways of doing things. His wisdom, his ideas, the way he carried himself came from somewhere else, came from Someone else. Daniel had been given the Spirit of God, and the Spirit spoke through Daniel. And when people who are lost in sin, when people who don’t know what it’s like to be saved from sin and evil, when they hear the Holy Spirit speaking to them through a human being, those words and those actions seem amazing to them. Proverbs 4:18 says:

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

So for the Babylonians, lost in darkness, the Holy Spirit working through Daniel was just the light they were looking for. They didn’t know it was the Holy Spirit, they just really like what Daniel had. And because of that, Daniel was placed in a position where God’s wisdom could have the most effect on the most people.

Except that, for some, that light was too bright. It hurt to hear Daniel talk. Those around Daniel that had been overlooked for the top job, they didn’t like what Daniel had to say. His wisdom just revealed their ignorance. His righteousness only drew attention to their faults. So, they, as the story goes, plotted Daniel’s downfall. They set him up. They tried to use the source of his strength against him. They tried to trip him up with his own commitment to the Lord. They tried to turn his righteousness, the source of his wisdom into a trap.

We’ve heard the story. They talk the king into making a law that if you pray to anyone other than the king, you’ll be eaten by lions. Praying to God, then, is a capital offense. And, of course, Daniel isn’t backing down. How could he? The source of his strength is the Lord God Almighty. To back off from time with the Lord is only going to make him weak and helpless. To leave the One who makes him wise only makes him an idiot. He’s not trading strength and wisdom for weakness and stupidity.

And so he prays. 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.

He doesn’t miss a step. He doesn’t pray in spite. He doesn’t pray in fear. He doesn’t pray to make a statement. He doesn’t pray to defy the king. He prays, to give thanks.

And right on cue, the officials spring the trap. Things are going according to plan They have Daniel, or so they think. Things are going according to plan, but it’s not their plan. The officials are springing the trap, but they’re the ones in the trap. The plan is God’s, and the plan is going perfectly. Because this plan was never really about Daniel. The plan wasn’t even about the officials. The purpose of God’s plan was to capture the king. God is moving and maneuvering so that the ruler of the greatest empire of that time comes to know the King of emperors, the Ruler of kings.

And the king of Babylon is almost ready. 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!”

Daniel’s God is not yet the king’s God, but at least the king is talking about God. At least the king knows where to put his hope, even if he hasn’t yet himself. And the king spends an awful, sleepless night, waiting for the morning. And, verse 19:

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. 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?”

The king has to know. Is Daniel’s God the real thing? Is He for real? Is Daniel’s God more powerful than lions? Can Daniel’s God defy the kings order? Is Daniel’s God bigger and stronger than anything else in the world?

And of course, the answer is, yes. In the middle of extreme danger, smelling the breath of the lions, hearing them pawing around the den, God delivers Daniel. They may have snarled, they may even have roared, but Daniel comes through unscratched.

And as a result, the king…praises…God. Verse 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. 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.”

God, through His Spirit, had moved Daniel into position. God, through His Spirit, had brought Daniel through the crisis. And God, through His Spirit, saved the king of Babylon through His care for Daniel.

Somebody is watching you right now. Somebody is watching your life. Your neighbor, the guy you work with, the woman who does your hair, they are watching how your God is taking care of you, and they’re trying to decide whether your God is for real or not. And it’s possible that God is working through you to get to them. But that’s only going to happen if we’re allowing both God and our friend into our lives at the same time. God only works through us if we tell our friends and neighbors that God is working in us. It’s pretty normal, it’s pretty natural, to work with someone or live next door to someone, and never ever mention what God is doing in our lives. It’s normal, it’s natural, but it’s useless to God.

We’re celebrating Pentecost today, and the Spirit that came in Acts 2 at Pentecost, that same Spirit has come into your life, when you gave your life to Jesus. And that same Spirit has moved you into the neighborhood where you are living. And that same Spirit has moved you into the job where you are working. And that same Spirit has moved your neighbor and co-worker next to you. And they’re watching you.

And what they’re seeing and listening for is how God is providing for you. Now, here in Daniel 6, God decided to save Daniel, to keep him from getting eaten. But God’s care doesn’t always come in the same way. Sometimes God saves us from the suffering. Sometimes, God removes the danger. But sometimes, sometimes God gives the strength necessary, the patience, the hope, to make it through. Sometimes God heals, and sometimes God gives us the ability to live with confidence and hope through the disease. Sometimes God spares a life, and sometimes God gives us victory, even through death.

But whether it’s through the hope that God gives or the strength He provides or the patience or the confidence or the victory or the deliverance, our friend, our neighbor is going to know that God is for real. And they’re going to want to know our God, if we’re willing to let them in to

our lives.

Do the people around you know what you’re going through? Are they aware of your struggles? And are they aware of the source of your strength? Is your dependence on God obvious? Let them see. Let them know. Talk about the pain and talk about the patience. Tell them about the suffering, and tell them about your Savior. The Spirit of God is in you, caring and protecting, delivering, saving you. The Spirit of God is working in them through you, drawing, teaching, saving your friend. Let them hear. Let them see. Let them know.