48. Daniel In the Lion's Den (Daniel 6:1-28).

by Wesley Blackburn

Over the past season of my life, I've been feeling and learning a lot of different things. Two of those in particular are:

1. God thrives in situations where we need Him to show up. I need to put myself in more positions and situations where things will work out only if God shows up, for that's where He receives glory the most.
2. God usually doesn't want me to do the impossible; He just wants me to be faithful.

I think that we see these themes in the story of Daniel. It starts with Daniel's faithfulness. Despite a decree to pray to no other God than the King of Persia, Daniel continues to remain faithful. What I find interesting in Daniel's decision is that he didn't make any overt efforts to broadcast his faithfulness. He didn't march before the king and outright defy him. He just continued serving God and being faithful in this humble, unassuming way.

But the other thing is that Daniel wasn't afraid to own up to the consequences of his actions. He wasn't afraid to put himself in a situation where God would have to show up or else the consequences would be dire (literally, his death). It just makes me wonder: Am I willing to put myself in situations where if God doesn't show up then I'm in trouble?

I think that oftentimes, I'm willing to put myself in positions where maybe I need to trust God a little bit, but I can also take control of my own future. I don't know that there are too many situations in my life where I've known beforehand, "God, there is absolutely nothing that I can do here. If you don't show up, I'm toast. But I believe You're here, You've called me to this, and You aren't going to let me down." But yet, those are the situations where God thrives. I wonder if maybe I don't see God's presence more in my life not because God doesn't show up, but because I don't really put myself in positions where He really can show up.

God wants me to be faithful. But He also wants me to not be afraid to step into situations that look impossible. That's where He thrives. That's where He receives glory.