At All Times

“When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.”—Daniel 6:10

Daniel amazes me. Taken from his homeland as a boy, educated in the traditions of the Babylonians, only to have Babylon conquered by the Medo-Persians, and then have to learn a new system of government, while still maintaining his integrity as a Jew in the midst of two pagan kingdoms with their own national religions is challenging. But he did. He stood for the LORD his God in the face of hostility and remained steadfast in a time of religious persecution.

A man or woman of integrity is easily noticeable by those around him or her. And Daniel was no different. After Darius the Mede conquered Babylon, he set in authority over his kingdom 120 satraps (similar to today’s governors), with three presidents over them, and with the king at the very top. Daniel, because of his skill in administration and impressive education, was chosen to be one of the three presidents. But the other presidents and satraps didn’t like him for reasons we are not given, and sought to remove him from his post. But with Daniel being a man of integrity, they couldn’t find ground for complaint or fault against him. Therefore, they hatched a plan whereby they could attack his one Achilles’ heel—his faith in God. If they could establish a requirement that he pray to the king, knowing full well that his integrity wouldn’t allow him to do it, they would then have enough evidence to have him accused of treason and removed from his post.

The ruse involved the presidents and satraps going to the king and playing to his vanity by getting him to establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction whereby if anyone were to pray to anyone but the king for thirty days they would be cast into the den of lions. The king agreed to it, unaware of their plans, and signed it into law. Daniel, full aware of the document’s signing, went to his house to pray, as he did three times daily. He didn’t attempt to hide it, but went to the upper floor of his house, opened up the windows, and got down on his knees and prayed.

Knowing Daniel’s discipline of prayer, they came by his house at just the right time in order to gather the evidence necessary to present to the king for his removal. Confronting the king with the evidence, they demanded Daniel be cast into the den of lions. Unable to free Daniel, the king reluctantly agreed to follow the law (although he didn’t realize until he was confronted by it that it would be used against Daniel; the king actually favored Daniel very much, even attempting to free him from it) and had him cast into the den of lions, where God miraculously preserved his life by keeping the lions docile until the next day.

There are many different elements to Daniel’s story, but the element I wish to focus on today is Daniel’s consistency. It didn’t matter where Daniel was, he still followed God. It didn’t matter who was reigning on the throne, he still managed to maintain his integrity. It didn’t matter what plan of persecution, purpose of man, or threat of pain, Daniel wouldn’t change who he was or the spiritual practices of his life for anyone—no matter what the price. He was the same man in all places and at all times.

What about you? Are you the same person in all circumstances? Not that we don’t change when we are around friends or family, but are we the same person spiritually? Are we willing to sacrifice our integrity for a crude joke or unethical practice? Are we willing to suffer the loss of prestige or position, or even suffer pain in our dedication to Christ Jesus?

I hope that we might all be brave like Daniel, remaining steadfast under trial and dedicated to God all the time.

O Lord, please enable me to be the same person before You at all times. May I not be tossed about by the waves of circumstance, but may I remain steadfast during the storms of life because You are my anchor in the midst of the storm. If there is a plan of evil against me, thwart it. If there is pain awaiting me, give me the grace to bear up under it. And if there is pain of death before me, give me the faith to face it. And may You receive all the glory because of it. Amen.