#One Night with Lions Devotional
Daily Reading: (Daniel 6:1-5):
“It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. 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.”
“So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian” (Daniel 6:28). The word proper is actually written in Aramaic. The book of Daniel is one of the few places where it is written in Aramaic- tsĕlach- to cause to prosper. I started with this verse so you will see God causing Daniel to prosper in and through all things.
Prosperity looks completely different than what many teach- prosperity in the lions den, prosperity in the trials and tribulations. God prospering your life doesn’t mean an absence of persecution but an abundance of it because those things will set Daniel up for blessing. When God’s favor is on your life- how can you be anything other than prospering in all things. God working all things together for our good.
As you let the light of Christ shine you will face persecution but don’t lose heart- God is causing you to prosper in Christ. Move from predicament to prosperity by faith (Daniel 6). The answer to walk in strength, wisdom, and favor that is undeniable and irresistible is to keep hearing and growing in your knowledge of God’s grace and mercy toward you. In Daniel’s story, the Lord, through an angel, addressed him as a “man greatly beloved” (Dan. 10:11). What this means is that the more you hear about and are confident in His love for you, the more you will live life with boldness that sets you apart from others and testifies of His power in your life.
“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’s situation might not be changed” (Daniel 6:17).
The den was sealed with a stone and it reminds me of a time when a tomb was also sealed with a stone. Did you know that an impossible to change situation with man is a God given opportunity for Him to reveal who He is (Daniel 6:17)?
Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! 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.”
Do you know who God sent to be with Daniel? He sent Jesus. It is the same Aramaic word used only two times in the entire Bible. The other time it is used when an angel appeared in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in Daniel 3:28. This is a sign that salvation is found in Christ.
“May you prosper greatly! Those are the words of King Darius to Daniel and those are my words to you. May you prosper greatly in Jesus because prosperity is found in Christ (Daniel 6:25-28).