Live Free with Josh Howerton - Trust God in the Challenges | Ep. 444 | Thursday , October 17, 2024

Episode Date: October 17, 2024

Daniel was cast into the lion’s den because he committed to worshipping God despite an unjust decree. His integrity and steadfast prayer routine were crucial in keeping him safe. Despite the challenges, Daniel aimed to maintain a humble connection with God daily. Do people around you know who you serve continually? “So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” (Daniel 6:16) For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.comit. Church slash daily drive. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what is up, everybody? Thanks for joining us on the Daily Drive. My name is Bro. And we have been looking at the life of a guy named Daniel. He's this young guy who was taken out of his home and he finds himself living in the godless culture that would challenge his every value. But we've seen that Daniel not only survived in this place called Babylon, he thrived there because he was the real deal. He lived with integrity, humility, confidence, excellence, and authenticity. And we talked yesterday about how the key to doing that, is to do what Daniel did and draw a line in your heart ahead of time before you find yourself in Babylon,

before you're faced with the temptation to walk away from God and forsake your core values and just go with the flow. And we said on yesterday's episode that real-deal kind of people like Daniel just resolve in their heart ahead of time to consistently honor God. And let me add this tag to it today. And they do that? no matter what happens. No matter what happens.

You really ought to read the story of Daniel for yourself. There's an awesome personal encounter with King Nebuchadnezzar where he boldly and lovingly tells him the truth. It's one of my favorite stories in the Bible. And one awesome example of just how serious God is about the self-destructive nature of pride and ego in our lives. But probably the most famous story about Daniel involves cats, big cats.

ferocious cats, hungry cats, king of the jungle kind of cats. You may have heard of the story, but do you know what landed Daniel in a den of lions? I want you to see this real quickly. A lot of time has passed now since Daniel first arrived in Babylon. Daniel's getting up there in years. He has this awesome reputation. Again, he's still humble, he's hard work, and he's faithful, he's team-oriented, he's courageous, he's got a servant's heart, and he gave great truthful feedback.

So this new king, King Darius, just falls in love with the character of this guy that he's heard so much about. He really deeply respects Daniel. And he would be one of those who would say, I can't write you a definition of authenticity for like Wikipedia or Webster's dictionary, but man, I know it when I see it, and he's standing right over there. Check out Daniel chapter 6. Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel's great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.

Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs. But they couldn't find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. So they concluded, Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion. Y'all remember those curve breakers in school?

I never was one. But, you know, I'm talking about that. That person would get an A and lower the grades of everybody else. Or that excellent employee on the job that makes everybody else look like slackers. Well, Daniel, he was that guy. He was not trying to act or even be superior. He just was. And so the other staff members get really, really jealous of him.

And they start searching for a way to take him out. And so they dig and they dig looking for dirt. They call Access Hollywood, the National Enquirer TMZ. They look for compromising YouTube footage, looked through his files and computer check phone records, his ring doorbell records, social media history, nothing. Clean. So they say, okay, if we got any shot at all of taking this guy out,

it's going to have to be something that has to do with his God. You remember the old adage if you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you? Well, there was lots of convicting evidence in Daniel's walk with God, and zero corruption in this guy's life. So they go to the king with a plan. They start flattering him. They start stroking his ego, telling him how great and mighty he was, how there was no one like him that only he deserved to be worshipped and served, and that he really ought to sign in the law that anybody caught worshipping another God besides him.

would face capital punishment. Well, the king's head gets inflated. His ego gets stroked, and he says, that's a pretty great idea. And they say, well, we just happen to have a draft of that new law. If you could just sign right here, it'll be official. Oh, King, by the way, you are the greatest. And so the king, forgetting about his faithful advisor and friend Daniel,

kind of gets intoxicated by his own self-importance, and he signs it into law. And now Daniel is in trouble. So what would you do? Run? Hide? Jump a plane for the furt of this country? Verse 10.

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 us God. Man, got to love this.

When Daniel learns that the law had been signed, he just does what he always did, because that's just who he was. A grateful guy who loved God and tried to do every moment of life with him. Consistent, faithful,

humble, authentic, the real deal. Well, the king realizes what he's done. When the other staff members come to him, I'm saying, hey, Your Majesty, guess what? We caught Daniel, bowing down to his God. And remember, you signed this new law the other day, and according to our Constitution and bylaws,

you can't go back on the law? Well, it just about rips the king's heart out, and he really, really wrestles with it. And he tries, weekly, to get out of it. But the law was binding. Verse 16. So at last, the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested. and thrown into the den of lions.

And I think it's pretty cool that he demonstrates his deep respect for Daniel and Daniel's God by saying to him, May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, may he rescue you. A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den. The king sealed a stone with his own royal seal and the seals of his nobles so that no one could rescue Daniel. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night fasting. He refused, as usual.

entertainment and couldn't sleep at all that night. I think grieving his decision, grieving his friend. Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lion's den. When he got there, he called out in anguish. Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you serve so faithfully able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered, long live the king. My God sent his angel to shut the lion's mouth so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I've not wronged you, your majesty. The king was overjoyed in order to Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God. Like those three guys we talked about last week, Shadrach Meshach Abendigo,

who came out of the fiery furnace, not even smelling like smoke, Daniel comes out without a scratch, because he had trusted in his God. So when you're just doing the right thing with excellence, and you find yourself unjustly thrown into a pit of jealous and baseless accusations, trust in God. He knows the truth. He knows the real you, and the real you will never be devoured. Your character will come out without a scratch. So trust him today in whatever your situation might be. He still delivers like that. Come on back to you. Come on back to tomorrow and we'll wrap this whole thing up. Man, I'm praying for you today like I do every day, and I hope you have a great day.

Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about all the digital ministries of Lake Point, visit lakepoint.church slash daily drive. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out. Thank you.