{"id":264,"date":"2017-05-19T14:43:01","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wewaitheworks\/?p=264"},"modified":"2017-05-19T14:43:33","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T14:43:33","slug":"daniel-lions-den","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/wewaitheworks\/2017\/05\/daniel-lions-den.html","title":{"rendered":"Inner Courage"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-265\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/405\/2017\/05\/Daniels_Answer_to_the_King-300x197.jpg\" alt=\"Daniel in the Lions Den, mezzotint by J. B. Pratt, with hand colouring, pub. by Thomas Agnew and Sons, 1892\" width=\"300\" height=\"197\" \/><\/div>\n<div>Have you ever been in a situation where you literally felt like you had no way out of? You aren\u2019t the only one who had felt like that. There are many characters in the Bible who probably felt trapped in their situations. Daniel, however, had complete trust in God, even when he was thrown into the lion\u2019 s den! That\u2019s a really brave man, to have complete faith in God in such a scary situation. In a huge way though, it should inspire us to follow his example.<br \/>\nDaniel is a character in the Bible that isn\u2019t always well known.\u00a0 He was a person who showed true loyalty to God. He showed true loyalty to his Heavenly father even if it meant getting thrown into the lion\u2019s den. Daniel was a man who was distinguished himself in front of the king and the king planned to have him set apart from the rest of his kingdom. There were people in Kin Darius\u2019s kingdom and of the courts that were plotting against Daniel. They wanted to see if they could find a way to see if he was in any way negligent, untrustworthy, or a corrupt person and as a government official. But they couldn\u2019t find anything to charge him with. So they had the king issue a decree that in that next month anyone who prays to any other God except the king himself, would be thrown into the lions den. But, Daniel and other men, being right with God, knew that they had to pray to God in order to be saved from the kings decree.<br \/>\nDaniel 6 explains: \u201c10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 11 Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help. 12 So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: \u201cDid you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions\u2019 den?\u201d<br \/>\nThe king answered, \u201cThe decree stands\u2014in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.\u201d13 Then they said to the king, \u201cDaniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.\u201d 14 When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.15 Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, \u201cRemember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.\u201d16 So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions\u2019 den. The king said to Daniel, \u201cMay your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!\u201d17 A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel\u2019s situation might not be changed. 18 Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.<br \/>\n19 At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions\u2019 den. 20 When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, \u201cDaniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?\u201d21 Daniel answered, \u201cMay the king live forever! 22 My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.\u201d23 The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God. 24 At the king\u2019s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions\u2019 den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.25 Then King Darius wrote to all the nations and peoples of every language in all the earth: \u201cMay you prosper greatly! 26 \u201cI issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. \u201cFor he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end.27\u00a0 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders\u00a0 in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.\u201d<br \/>\nGod does the same for us whenever we call on Him. He can and is willing to save us from the lion\u2019s den and from Satan\u2019s evil snare. All we have to do is know where to look for Him and how to call on Him. We can call on Him anytime and anywhere, no matter if its day or night. We can look for His promises in his word. There is nothing better than trusting God when all seems lost. Even in the midst of your sorrow, pain, worry or anger, you will feel an instant peace that takes over you. You can literally feel God\u2019s presence with you.\u00a0 Look at how He saved Daniel. If He can save Daniel from the lions, he can surely save us from anything that may befall us. Remember the courage Daniel had in the midst of some of the darkest hours of his life. Take hold of your own inner courage and strength during hard times and trust that God will lead you through them.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever been in a situation where you literally felt like you had no way out of? You aren\u2019t the only one who had felt like that. There are many characters in the Bible who probably felt trapped in their situations. Daniel, however, had complete trust in God, even when he was thrown into&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":611,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[134,3,36,194,2,41,96,88,77,183,135,71,179,47,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agape-love","category-christianity","category-church","category-daniel-and-the-lions-den","category-faith","category-god","category-gods-prescense","category-gods-promises","category-gods-wonders","category-god-given-abilities","category-gods-love","category-love","category-needing-god","category-praise","category-prayer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Inner Courage - We Wait He Works<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Daniel had courage during the darkest hours of his life. 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