How to have an Uncompromising Faith

I don’t know if there is a written handbook somewhere or if every mother on the planet just has this instinctual default built into her DNA, but I’ve realized something over the years that I think every mother says.  Your mom probably said it to you when you were a kid.  Every time you jumped off the couch or jumped into the pool.  Every time you went to school or played a sport.  When you got behind the wheel of a car for the first time or the day you went off to college.  If your mom is anything like my mom she probably said these words often:

“BE CAREFUL.”

The more I’ve thought about it I’ve realized: We live in a world consumed with safety.

Why are we so consumed with safety?

You can’t turn on the radio without hearing an ad for a new home security service.  Our stores are filled with safety devices & gadgets that protect our homes, our cars, our kids & our stuff.

But what are we afraid of really? Where does this overemphasis on safety come from? Are we afraid to loose something? Someone? Are we afraid of what might happen if we’re unsafe?

Have we become so enamored with safety that we have lost faith?

Enter Daniel.

If you know this story, then you know Daniel had been brought into Babylon in captivity as a slave. Here again the people of God are living under oppression. Daniel is a sharp young man & he rises quickly in government service because of his God given talents & abilities. At this point in the story, he has become one of the chief administrators in the office of king Darius. His fellow administrators hated him because he was so good at his job & because he was, in their eyes, lesser. He was just a captive from Judah. Why should he be elevated to the same degree they were. They felt entitled. And they felt threatened by Daniel.

So they did what people do who feel entitled, afraid & threatened. They decided to make plans to get rid of him. They knew of Daniel’s religious convictions. They knew of his faith. And they knew that Daniel prayed three times every day. Daniel doesn’t make a spectacle out of this practice, but he doesn’t hide it either. They knew they couldn’t get Daniel in trouble for his work.  He’s too good. But maybe they could use his faith against him to get rid of him.

Here’s part of the story from Daniel 6.6-11.

So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius!  We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions.  And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.”  So King Darius signed the law.

But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help.  Daniel 6.6-11

I think it’s interesting that it says, when Daniel learned that the law had been signed. That seems to mean that before it had been signed, Daniel knew it existed. But even now that this law had become a reality, Daniel did what Daniel always did.  He prayed. He knew the law. He knew it could not be changed. He knew the consequences. He prayed anyway. He asked for God’s help.

The safe thing for Daniel to have done would have been to stop praying. At least stop praying where these guys could see him. But Daniel didn’t choose safety. He chose to believe.

Would you compromise your faith for your safety?

Can you imagine being Daniel, standing at the edge of that lions den?  I’d be willing to bet he’d been by this place before. This wasn’t a new place. He had no doubt seen people torn limb from limb. He’d heard their blood curdling cries in the streets. He’d heard the lions roar. He knew the sound. He knew the smell. He knew this was the end for him.

But Daniel’s belief in God ran deep. Daniel’s faith was in the King of kings, not the king of Persia.  He had already prayed for God’s help. And when you put your faith in God, God will prove His faithfulness to you. One way or another. Daniel knew this. His belief in God ran deep.

So don’t ever compromise your faith because of your fear. God rewards faith. When we have faith in God even in the face of death the world will watch & marvel & turn toward God because of your faith!  If we believe what we say we believe, we literally have nothing to fear.  Not even a den of lions.

Uncompromising Faith & Unending Praise

The next morning king Darius found that Daniel had survived the lions den.  That had never happened before & maybe has never happened since.  You know what Darius did after witnessing the power of Daniel’s God?  He praised Daniel’s God.  Our God.

When we who believe in God demonstrate the faith we have in God, especially in times when it might cost us something significant, even those who have never known God will praise God.

To hear more messages from this series “Choose to Believe: Overcoming Fear with Faith” click here.

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