When Faith Shows



Daniel 6:1-10
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom;
2 and over them three high officials, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.
3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
4 Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.
5 Then these 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.”
6 Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!
7 All the high officials 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 injunction, that whoever makes petition to any god or man for thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.
8 Now, O king, establish the injunction and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.”
9 Therefore King Darius signed the document and injunction.
10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.

When I was a in elementary school there was that rare occurrence when the teacher needed to step out of the room for a few minutes and someone had to be placed “in charge” of the room while they were gone. (This was back in the dark ages before classrooms had teacher aids and additional adults in the room as is often the case today.) I still remember when out of the blue the teacher asked me come up and “watch” the class while she stepped out. It felt like such an honor and to this day, I have no idea why I was chosen. But it is a memory that has stuck with me. Then came the back-lash as the other kids called me “teacher’s pet” and “goodie two shoes”. I didn’t care for that part. Today, we find Daniel in a similar circumstances at a much higher level and with catastrophic consequences.

The Medo-Persians are now the ruling power in the world. Babylon has been conquered and Belshazzar has been deposed. King Darius is now the man in power. It was common at that time for the conquering king to set up the new government, placing people with leadership experience as governors. Daniel of course fell into that category. He is still seen as a “captured slave” from Judea, but has deported himself with such grace and skill in his role as leader for the Babylonians that he is noticed by Darius. As his integrity and skill as a leader emerges, Darius recognizes a good man when he sees one and places Daniel in one of the top three positions in the country. Daniel does so well in that role that Darius considers giving him the position as the ruler of Babylon. Daniel continues just as he began as a teenager, standing head and shoulders over others because the power of God rests in him. Now the other kids are calling him “teacher’s pet” and deciding on a way to take him down.

In his letter to the Colossians, Paul advises the followers of Christ to serve with the same kind of fervor that Daniel had. Daniel lived his faith out loud without apology but also with God given grace and skill. He did his job as “unto the Lord.”

Colossians 3:16–17
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Daniel did not know that the Messiah’s name would be Jesus, but he lived doing all things in the name of His God, Yahweh. (Since Jesus and Yahweh are one in the same . . . well, you get the point.) Yet he shines as an example to us to complete all of our tasks as if we are doing them for the Lord Himself; even those tasks the may seem ignoble. Washing dishes can be done unto the Lord just as fully as preaching a sermon. If we live our lives as if we are doing all things unto the Lord, other will notice; they cannot help but do so. Tomorrow we will find out the price Daniel pays for his faithful life. It’s another fantastic story of God’s strength and love.

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