Good Morning Friends,
“So the administrators and the satraps went as
a group to the king and said: ‘O King Darius, live forever! The royal
administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the
king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any
god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown
into the lions’ den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so
that it cannot be altered -- in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians,
which cannot be repealed.’ So King Darius put the decree in writing. 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.”
(Daniel 6:6-10)
When you do what is right, not everyone will
be pleased with you. The other leaders in the administration of Darius were not
pleased with Daniel. For one thing, they were jealous. He had already been
appointed one of the three top administrators in the kingdom and the king was planning
to put him over all of the other administrators. (Daniel 6:3)
It’s also probable that the satraps and other
administrators felt guilty because of Daniel’s good work for the king. They couldn’t,
or wouldn’t match his effort and integrity.
Jealousy and guilt led to hatred and scheming
to get rid of Daniel in the only way they could think of -- they would use his commitment
to God against him.
Daniel was now faced with a crisis. The
normal expression of his commitment to and relationship with God would be punishable
by death in a lions’ den. Would he continue to openly worship God, or would he
go underground with his faith?
That was an easy question for Daniel! He
continued to do what he had always done, worshiping God and praying regularly
and openly. His commitment to God meant more than his position, his power, his
comfort, or even his life.
Would it be an easy question for you? Does
your commitment to God mean that much to you?
His, by Grace,
Steve
No comments:
Post a Comment