There are Consequences for Your Actions
“So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, may your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.” Daniel 6:16
Daniel meets his fate as a result of breaking the king’s law. Even the king doesn’t like it, but the law must be kept even if your friend breaks it. So Daniel gets arrested and thrown into the den of lions. I guess that is what he gets for obeying God rather than man.
Sadly I think some in our day just don’t get it. When you must take a stand you must also be willing to face the consequences. Yes there will be consequences. Suffering and the Christian walk go hand in hand. Daniel did not get a pardon. Instead he gets thrown into a den of lions. Usually you throw dinner into the den. Will Daniel be dinner tonight?
I want you this morning to consider this historic event in slow motion so to speak. So often we read this like a child’s bedtime story, where we emphasize the end of the story, the part where Daniel doesn’t become dinner. This morning, however, I want us to freeze the frame and see the night in the den of lions. It wasn’t five minutes standing in front of a lion cage at the zoo. No Daniel spent an entire night visiting the home of the lions. No sweet sounding purring to comfort him. These are not cuddly kittens here. If this were TV we would hear music much like the jaws theme before an attack to dramatize the moment. The king knew this wasn’t good. Likely he felt his friend was a goner.
You and I know “the rest of the story.” Still let us not skip over the details. God may want us to spend time in our own lion’s den of sorts. Sometimes life feels like we have been thrown to the lions. Still it doesn’t mean all is lost. If you are still alive then it ain’t over my friends. God does not keep us from the den of lions, but he may close the lion’s mouth. Do you think Daniel felt some fear? Still Daniel trusted his God and so must we.
I see this as a faith test, perhaps more for Darius than for Daniel, but a faith test none the less. Daniel remained faithful. Will we when our faith is challenged?
These morning meditations written by Christian believer and author, Patricia Hawkins, who offers these meditations for your personal edification. You may contact Patricia at prayerpartnerpat@gmail.com.