Lion's Den Faith
<BIBLEPASSAGE versestart="22" chapter="6" book="da" translation="niv">Daniel 6:22</BIBLEPASSAGE>
Sometimes you read a Bible story so many times you forget what it actually means.
We’ve seen the flannel graphs. We’ve heard the bedtime story, probably, four thousand times and in four thousand varieties. We’ve even done the drama in Summer Camp.
Daniel and the Lion’s Den. Been there, done that.
Except we may have skipped right past the most important lesson of this crazy story.
I call it the lesson of lion’s den faith.
See, we look at Daniel and say, “Wow, what a courageous guy to pray, knowing he’d face the lions.�?
But that decision wasn’t made on the porch that fateful day. It wasn’t made when Daniel was hauled before the king. It wasn’t made when he was led to the pit of hungry carnivores.
Daniel made his decision to serve God long ago when he was a teenager. Yeah, back when he was mercilessly ripped from his home, forced to live in a foreign country, and forced to give up his faith.
Except Daniel didn’t give in and He didn’t give up. As a teen, he determined to live out his faith, despite the consequences. Even in the little things. Even if nobody else but his three buddies would go along.
That’s real faith, my friends. Faith when nobody is looking. Faith that is ready for the lion’s den.
Somewhere down the road you’ll face a lion’s den. A big moral decision that will determine what kind of impact you will have on your world.
But the seeds of that decision are planted now. In your teen years.
Think:
- What small compromises are you tempted to make now?
- What are you doing today to plant the seeds of Lion’s Den Faith?