August 31, 2005
The Kingdom Advanced By Non-believers
Daniel 6 has a wonderful story. It's one that probably every person in the "Western world" has heard -- Daniel in the lion's den. There are several cool details in this story. One is that one of God's people, Daniel, was faithful in what was brought before him (the little things) and much responsibility was then given to him (the big things). This favor was obvious to all, and Daniel's peers became jealous in their greed for power. They would be the villains of this story. These people, called satraps, coincidentally set a trap for Daniel. They manipulated the king to enact a new law that forbid anyone to pray to anyone or anything other than him for the next 30 days. Daniel was faithful to pray to God three times a day in his upper bedroom. He gave thanks to God and asked Him for help.
This is a beautiful part of the story: Daniel made it a regular part of his day to stop and pray to God. It mentions that Daniel did this "just as he had done before." He didn't change his routine when he heard about the new law. He apparently determined that he would continue to pray to God no matter what the consequences. His peers turned him into the king and, try as he might until sundown, he could not reverse the law he had enacted. He sent Daniel into the lion's den, but the king said to Daniel, "May your God, Whom you serve continually, rescue you!"
If you and I can do nothing public... If our "witnessing skills" completely suck... If we're too shy to talk to people about God... If we cannot seem to find a way to publically and evangelically serve our God, the least we can do might be enough -- and that is to continually serve our God, period. Our consistency in the small things (what would those small things be? praying, reading the Word, and trying to live like God would want us to -- honestly, justly, and humbly) might just be enough witness and testimony to reach the non-believers around us. We may not be as brilliant as a great Bible teacher, or as clever as a popular evangelist, but we can be us and that can be enough (because God is alive and we are letting Him work in our lives and He's changing us -- sometimes fast and sometimes slowly).
The king didn't have his usual entertainment brought to him that night. He didn't eat, nor did he sleep. At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lion's den. I bet he looked like a little kid, running to where the Christmas presents were, or a young farmer rushing out to see if that calf had been born. I imagine that he was worried and excited as he ran. He might've been "preparing for the worst and hoping for the best" as he hurried down to the lion's den. I bet his voice was cracking as he cried out (verse 20 describes his voice as "anguished"): "'Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, Whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?'"
Daniel answered back and the king was overjoyed. He commanded that the men who plotted Daniel's death were themselves thrown into the lion's den, along with their families. Before they reached the floor, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones. Wow. The villains got taken care of rather swiftly. Then the king issued a decree:
"'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.'"
This was an expansion of God's kingdom. It was a public testimony, story, and word that was heard throughout the land. And this from the mouth of a non-believer. This leader chose to praise God and he used his influence to spread the message. How's that for irony?
Now, some might offer criticism that, 'Whenever Christianity or faith of any kind is officially and politically made the law of the land, like with Constantine a few centuries later, that it's a bad thing.' While I agree that the long-term fruit of Constantine wasn't always a beautiful and lasting testimony, but God didn't step in and thwart or criticize the spontaneous decree that King Darius made. And you can sure as heck be convinced that many Christians were able to continue the work of God's kingdom when the restraints of anti-Christian laws were lifted. While complacency may have been a legitimate problem after Constantine's decree, I bet a lot of families that were used to seeing their loved ones martyred were certainly relieved.
It's probably a good idea to back off when someone spontaneously responds to God or His people. Many times its an innocent response to the Living God and we probably shouldn't be so quick to squelch such a thing. Sometimes our so-called knowledge and experience can really get in the way of something special, surprising, and new that God wants to do. I imagine God sometimes smiles with great joy over us at times like these -- even if we are making strategic and long-term mistakes. There's a balance, and to maintain that balance we need to sometimes be patient and restrain ourselves from reacting. Mistakes can be a good thing in the long run. Sometimes we need to fail in order to learn how to succeed.
Well, the news from New Orleans keeps getting worse. May the God of peace rescue and restore the many people who are dealing with the hardships from Hurricane Katrina.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at August 31, 2005 09:40 AM