Daniel Week Six, Day Three Read Daniel 6:13-18 When I started going to church when I was a teenager, I didn’t get all the random arguments that plague so many churches. I remember one of my Sunday school teachers was being criticized unfairly by another member of the church. It got pretty ugly, and my Sunday school teacher was on the brink of quitting. Instead of resorting to the same underhanded tactics that some of the other members had employed against him, the Sunday school teacher approached the situation with integrity and honesty. As a young follower of Jesus, the example he set by approaching the situation the right way in the face of his haters made a huge impact in my life. As soon as the officials saw that Daniel had broken the king’s law by praying to God, they went to the king and told him what he had done. They also reminded the king of the punishment, being thrown into a den of hungry lions. The king was distressed because he didn’t want to punish Daniel. He looked for a way out, but the officials reminded him that a decree from the king couldn’t be changed. So, the king gave the order to throw Daniel into the lion’s den. The king’s last words to Daniel were, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” After Daniel had been left for dead, the king went home and couldn’t eat or sleep because he was so distressed. The king wasn’t a God fearing man, but he had great respect for Daniel. Daniel had served him well and lived out his faith in front of the king with integrity. The king regretted his decision that he thought was certain to be Daniel’s downfall. When you live your life God’s way, you’ll make your fair share of enemies the way that Daniel did. But, you will also gain great respect from others. When you live with integrity and honor God with how you live, work, and play, God will open doors for you to impact the lives of people you would never expect to be open to the things of God. Don’t allow the critics to keep you from living a life of integrity and honor towards God. You never know who else is watching. REFLECT: If you were Daniel, how would you have responded to King Darius’ decree that no one could pray to anyone but him? Why? PRAY: In your prayer time today, talk to God about the people you would love to influence for God in your life. Ask God to help you live a life of integrity and honor towards Him, so that others might be more receptive of God because of your life. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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