Soon Daniel distinguished himself above all the other presidents and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him, and the king planned to appoint him over the whole kingdom. So the presidents and the satraps tried to find grounds for complaint against Daniel in connection with the kingdom. But they could find no grounds for complaint or any corruption, because he was faithful, and no negligence or corruption could be found in him. The men said, "We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."
So the presidents and satraps conspired and came to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever! All the presidents of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an interdict, that whoever prays to anyone, divine or human, for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into a den of lions. Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked." Therefore King Darius signed the document and interdict.
Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously.
In the text for today Daniel was living in trying times of captivity and injustice. People noticed the Holy Spirit at work in Daniel and they began to hate him as well as hate on him. Both Daniels friends and foes wanted to embarrass, defame, and discredit him in front of everyone. So they conspired against him. Daniel was well aware of everything that was going on and the repercussions that could take place. However Daniel also knew who God was, therefore he choose to remain faithful in spite of this dire situation.
The USMC- United States Marine Core has a saying Semper Fi- meaning Always Faithful. The Marine saying is constant with young Daniels actions in spite of adversity he remained faithful always. What about us? Do you and I trust God enough to remain faithful? What about when it comes to our job security, health, finance, relationships, living situations, faith? Do we continue to pray with the windows open? Do we live our faith out loud? Do we trust God enough to remain faithful even when we are set up by all others? Can we remain faithful despite the times?
I pray that we can and that we do remain faithful, after all we like Daniel know who God is and that we are God's. I invite you to read more and find out how Daniel's story ends?
Thought for today- REMAIN FAITHFUL!
No comments:
Post a Comment