He is the SAME, Yesterday, Today & FOREVER!
What struck me the deepest was noting the point that Daniel did not know the end of his story, he was not able to read his story and know that God was going to deliver him.
What he did know is that God is faithful, and that no matter what the price, he was going to be obedient to God's law. He knew that worshipping anything or anyone other than God would be far worse than incurring whatever human punishment was assigned.
Daniel went home and prayed in front of an OPEN window, three times a day, the same as he did everyday (Daniel 6:10). Regardless of the Kings new law, Daniel did not cower, he did not go hide in his closet for his prayer time, he did not stop doing what was right for fear that he might suffer the judgement of man.
I am sure the day that Daniel was sentenced by King Darius to the lions den, he thought it was certain death. He knew, just like Shadrach, Meshach & Abed-Nego, that whether or not God chose to deliver them or let them die, it didn't matter (Daniel 3:16-17). They trusted God and they were going to be faithful to God and God alone.
Our lives are similar to Daniel and his friends. We are tested everyday and we do not yet know how the end of our stories will be written. We can however take heart and know that our God is faithful and capable.
It matters not how God chooses to conclude a situation in our life. Some have been martyred for their faith and their refusal to waiver, but even that as tragic as it sounds to our flesh, was obedience that honored God and is a testimony that God can and will use. Nothing happens in our lives by accident. Everything that we go through, good and bad, God can and will use to help us, help others!
We may not be able to read the book of our lives and know how it ends, but we do have a book that we can read and by reading the Word of God we can know what is to come, we can discover His will and the blessings that He has for us. We can find the encouragement that we need when we are faced with our own trials, that a man was thrown into a den full of lions and he WAS NOT devoured! If God can shut the mouths of hungry lions, what makes you think He can't deliver you from you den of lions?
Be still & know that I am God (Psalms 46:10)
