BY BRUCE GREEN
OPINION —
In chapter 6 of Daniel, the Medo-Persians have taken over after defeating Belshazzar and the Babylonians. Daniel (who had to feel like this was déjà vu all over again), lands on his feet. Darius appoints him as one of three administrators over Babylon. Daniel does so well in this position that Darius decides he wants to turn everything over to him (v. 3). He is “trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent” (v. 4).
This doesn’t sit well with the other administrators and satraps so they do a deep dive into Daniel in an effort to find something they can use against him. Crickets. Pinning something on Daniel was like nailing jello to a tree — you just couldn’t do it.
They did learn that Daniel is a person of prayer, so they go to the king and get him to publish a decree saying that anyone who prays to any god or human being other than the king over the next 30 days will be thrown into the lions’ den. Darius (who must have been more flattered than discerning), goes along with the request, the decree is issued and Daniel, from his co-workers’ perspective, is toast.
But it doesn’t work out that way.
Daniel does the same thing he’s always done — he goes home and prays by the window, giving thanks to God (v. 10). And make no mistake about it, this is where the victory is won. The victory isn’t when Daniel is rescued from the lions — that’s the victory lap. The main course is Daniel’s choice to continue praying, escaping the lions is the dessert. But we don’t always get dessert, do we? And now we’re back to chapter 3 where Daniel’s friends told Nebuchadnezzar that whether they were saved from the fire or not, they weren’t going to bow down to the image.
What we need to see is that like Daniel’s friends, Daniel was leaving the consequences to God. When we were in Romania this summer, I taught English to a lady named Aurelia. In the second week of class, she shared with me that her 13-year-old daughter had an inoperable brain tumor. She had had leukemia when she was younger, and they had lived a year in Rome while that was being treated, but there was no treatment for her tumor. I fumbled for something to say. She didn’t. She reassured me that her daughter was currently well, enjoying her life, and they were leaving the rest up to God. And she didn’t blink an eye. Was she emotionally gutted over the situation? I’m sure she was. But she had put things in God’s hands and was moving forward by faith.
If you want to move your spiritual life to a higher level, just start leaving the consequences to God and you’ll be amazed at the power and peace that will flow into your life. The psalmist reminds us that the righteous “Will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord” (Psalm 112:7).
Find more of Green’s writings at his website: a-taste-of-grace-with-bruce-green.com.