Daniel and the lions den — often a story that makes us think of standing firm in our faith and not relenting in the face of tyrannical rulers — or maybe someone who stared death in the face and laughed — or maybe how God comes through for the ones He loves — or maybe this one man who defied all odds just like his buddies did with the fiery furnace and lived to tell about it. I believe that this story was about those things — but what if the greater purpose in this story was something more than we normally see it as?
When I look at the story of Daniel, I see that this story is not about Daniel ... and really … this story is not about the lions den ... because the lions den was always about more than just the lions den — the lions den was a tool for a greater glory that God was going to bring to Himself through the means of the lions den.
I believe that in this life, we all face lions dens ... we face danger and trials and opposition and fears and insecurities and completely insurmountable odds and life-changing hardships and sometimes even unjust treatment that leads us to question much of this life … yet what if God was wanting to do something greater through the lions dens that we face? And what if He was trying to do something that would change our lives and the lives of those in our circles of influence for the better?
When we face our lions dens in our lives, I believe that God — as we lean in to our relationship with Him — is eager to reveal Himself to us. Now without question, I believe that God can reveal Himself to us before we face our lions … He did that with Daniel and sometimes He does with us … if we are willing to seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with all of our heart (Jeremiah 29:12) … but even if He reveals Himself to us before the lions den, I have to believe that for Daniel there was some powerful revelation going on inside Him as He made that walk as a result of His obedience to God.
Can you imagine what Daniel was feeling as they walked him to the lions den … can you imagine that senior citizen being walked out to this place that only the worst of the worst were taken to die the most brutal and painful of deaths … I want you to try, if even for a minute- to put yourself in that situation … a man of God … who had stood up to many a leader in his day — was now forced to walk a road that none of us at least in our lifetimes have faced … a road to almost certain death … I mean — what was the conversation like with God? And what was God revealing to Daniel?
For those of us that might struggle with God revealing Himself to us- — may I encourage you today — you are not alone … many of us do struggle with this but I believe that His revealing Himself to us is directly related to our proximity to Him. As we move closer to God, we will find that His revelation of who He is and what He wants to show us gets clearer.
Daniel’s strength in this situation did not come from a revelation of himself — but rather through the revelation of God — both before the den and during the den. The more that Daniel (who prayed intentionally three times a day) connected with God the closer he was to Him. Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Let’s today choose to be people like Daniel who move toward God that we might experience His life-changing presence and see our lions dens for what they are — an opportunity for God to change the world through it — and that starts with us.
— The Rev. Josh Keller is co-pastor at Cornerstone Church in Litchfield.
— The Rev. Josh Keller is co-pastor at Cornerstone Church in Litchfield.
