Daniel 6
When you make up your mind as a child of God not to compromise your faith whatsoever, scripture says that you will suffer many trials. (2Tim 3:12).The path of faith is a very narrow path and many a times you may find yourself travelling on a lonely road for making up your mind to honor God.
Daniel’s decision not to bow and worship the King when everyone else was doing it did not augur well with his colleagues and they set him up against the King. Nevertheless, he continued with his usual habit of praying to His God three times a day. What boldness and a display of faith in God! This man was ready to pay the cost for His faith even if it was going to cost him his life. He was ready to perish rather than bow down to man or any other god. When his accusers saw him being thrown into the den of lions, and even witnessed a big stone rolled over to completely seal the den, they must have been more than happy because they knew that his end had come. From then onwards, he would no longer be a threat to them at the work place with his excellent spirit (Dan 6:3) or so they thought. All along, they had been jealous of this slave who had risen up the ranks so fast and remained in government for three successive regimes, every time finding favour with each of the Kings.
Remember, the devil is threatened by the seed of greatness in you; the potential inside you scares him and he will use any means to steal, destroy and kill it before it manifests. However, the seed of God will thrive in whatever environment because God is committed to defend his own. Now you realize that Daniel’s battle was not only because of his decision not to worship the King, but also because of the gift of God in Him.
If you can set your mind to pay the cost for what you believe no matter what, then heaven will surely deliver you no matter what comes your way.By God’s divine instruction, the lions in the den were able to differentiate Daniel from the other men who were later thrown in the den. It’s interesting that before they hit the bottom of the pit, they had been torn into pieces yet Daniel stayed a whole night with them and left in the morning without a single scratch! That’s how God preserves his own.
No matter what price you may have to pay just for the sake of your faith I hope you will remember that the God who delivered Daniel from death is still alive and at work and no matter how many times the devil tries to sabotage your destiny; God will preserve you and continue to propel you to higher heights for the sake of His name.