Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign.
[00:00:06] This is Chuck Allen, and welcome to the weekday podcast. So Daniel is like 80 something years old, and he's been in exile for decades. Since he was 13 years old, y' all. He's watched empires come and go, rise and fall. He served kings who couldn't even pronounce his real name because, remember, when he got exiled, they wouldn't call him by his name. And the whole Daniel diet is based on the concept that he wouldn't eat their unclean clean food as a kid. This guy's got a long history of righteousness, which makes Daniel pretty awesome, dude. But in the simple fact that there he is with nothing to lose, he's maybe a little dangerous. And now there's a new king in town. His name is Darius, and Darius likes Daniel. He trusts him. He actually wants to put the old exile in charge of the entire kingdom. But nothing threatens insecure people like competence, like integrity, like someone who actually deserves the promotion that they're afraid they might never receive. Yikes.
[00:01:08] So the other administrators, these guys who've been playing, you know, like palace politics their whole lives, they start looking for dirt on Daniel. These are. These are guys who have been in politics their whole life, probably never had to really lead anything.
[00:01:24] They're digging through his emails, they're checking his expense reports, they're analyzing his performance reviews, and they don't find a thing.
[00:01:31] In the new living translation that I love to preach from, it says this. They couldn't find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. Can you imagine living such a life that when your enemies go looking for dirt, there isn't any? But here's what's brilliant about these administrators. They realize something that's profound that we need to grasp. They say we'll never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel, unless it is something to do with the law of his God.
[00:02:04] They understand that Daniel's greatest strength is also his greatest vulnerability.
[00:02:09] His faithfulness, his consistency, his refusal to compartmentalize God in his life as if it were something he could put on a shelf.
[00:02:18] And they know. I mean, they know Daniel won't be able to help himself. Because people like Daniel don't suddenly become different people when things get difficult, they become more themselves.
[00:02:30] So what does Daniel do when he hears about this law? The text says he went home to his upstairs room, opened his windows toward Jerusalem, and prayed three times a day, just as he had always done.
[00:02:42] Hear that? Just as he had always done. You see, Daniel doesn't pray because of the Law. He isn't praying in spite of the law. Daniel's not praying in protest. He's not throwing bricks and waving flags. He prays because he's been praying three times a day for 70 plus years.
[00:03:02] The law is irrelevant to Daniel's rhythm of life. And I love the detail about the windows. He opens his windows toward Jerusalem not because it's north, south, east, or west, but toward a city that exists mostly in his memory now because it's been wiped out. He's praying toward a temple that was destroyed decades ago, toward a home he'll never see again. You see, Daniel's praying toward hope, toward promises, toward a future he may never experience.
[00:03:31] So they catch him. Of course they do, right? And they drag him before King Darius, who realizes he's been played, he's been used. He spends all day trying to find a loophole, but there isn't one. And here's what breaks my heart about this story. Darius says to Daniel, may your God whom you serve so faithfully rescue you. May your God rescue you. Dude, you're about to throw him literally, into a lion's den. I mean, even a pagan king recognizes something in Daniel that all these other guys totally missed. I mean, they whiffed on it. This isn't just duty for Daniel. This is love.
[00:04:06] So into the lion Danny go. They seal the stone, and Daniel spends the night with the lions. But here's the thing about people who've been walking with God consistently and faithfully. They've learned that the scariest places are often where God shows up most clearly. The next morning, Darius comes running. He calls out, daniel, servant of the living God. Was your God, whom you so faithfully able to rescue, would you rescue from the lions? And Daniel? I mean, almost 90 years old, who spent the night in a lion's den, who hadn't? Those guys hadn't eaten. They call back, long live the king. My God sent his angel to shut the lion's mouth so they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. He's been found innocent. Not perfect. Not, I mean, just innocent. Because he was faithful, not because he never made mistakes, but because he never stopped turning toward Jerusalem, toward God, toward hope, never stopped opening his windows, never stopped praying three times a day. And you know what's beautiful about that? After Daniel comes out of the lion's den, King Darius issues a decree. He says, I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God and he will endure forever.
[00:05:23] One old man's faithfulness changed an empire's understanding of God. The whole empire.
[00:05:29] So if you're feeling like an underdog today, you're feeling like you're in your own version of a lion's den. If people are looking for ways to use your faithfulness against you, remember, Daniel, remember that the practices that make you vulnerable are also the practices that make you powerful.
[00:05:47] Keep opening your windows. Keep praying toward Jerusalem. Keep being faithful, just as you've always done.
[00:05:55] Because sometimes the lion's den is exactly where God wants to show the whole world what faithfulness looks like. Thanks for joining me today on the weekday podcast. It really is an honor to share this with you each weekday. And always remember, you're loved. And if you're in a lion's den, God wants to get in it with you. God bless you. Bye now.
