Dave's Diary

Daily Readings: Daniel 6 and Psalm 147

When Daniel’s colleagues in government became envious of his success and plotted to usurp his authority, they looked for some moral failing or irregularity to pin on him. But, v.4-5 says, “they could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. Finally these men said, ‘We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.’”

What a fantastic testimony to the faithfulness, honesty and integrity of Daniel. And what a great standard to which we can aspire as children of God – that those nearest to us would find neither corruption nor negligence in us. May it be said of us that we are entirely trustworthy – that we can be depended upon to always do what we have promised to do and which is rightfully expected of us.

What an accolade it would be if those looking to oppose us had absolutely no avenue of attack open to them, other than looking for some way in which our faithfulness to God could be leveraged against us. This was the one sure line of attack on Daniel. His faithfulness to God was not up for negotiation. So his political enemies found a way to make that faithfulness illegal in the kingdom of Babylon. Their strategy appeared to be working when Daniel predictably kept praying three times a day despite a royal law making it illegal to do so. They were certain that their plan had worked when Daniel was thrown into a lion’s den as punishment for this “indiscretion”. But their celebration was premature. They had not counted on the fact that that the LORD is the One True God and is more than capable of rescuing His own! Before long, the tables were turned! Daniel was saved, and his enemies ended up being destroyed by the king.

Heavenly Father, empower us to not turn aside from faithfully serving You, even if doing so leads to persecution, loss or suffering of some kind. Empower us to be like Daniel and to refuse to compromise on our obedience to You, even if it should be under the threat of death. Holy Spirit, help us to be faithful. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.