Today’s article is part of our summer series, “Be of Good Courage.”

It’s 6th century B.C. and many Jews are captives in Babylon. King Darius has made a decree that nobody can pray to anyone or any god other than him. If someone breaks the decree, the sentence is death. 

As we read in Daniel 6, a few jealous Babylonian leaders set the stage for Daniel’s arrest. They knew he wouldn’t stop praying to his God, the God of Israel. It was a trap, one that Daniel didn’t avoid. 

He continued to pray just like always. He trusted God would take care of the rest. He had great courage and great faith, as he continued to do what was right in the face of certain death. 

One day, he was discovered praying, and even though Darius didn’t want to enforce the law he’d signed, he had to (or lose all credibility in the kingdom). 

Daniel was sentenced to be placed in a lion’s den, but he didn’t fear. He had courage and believed that God would protect him. Sure enough, when the morning came, he was alive, and the lions had not even scratched him.

Here in the U.S., we don’t face what Daniel did in terms of legal judgment for who we worship or how we do that. There’s no government official waiting to arrest us for holding a baptism that’s against the law. 

But there are places in the world, even today, where laws like these exist. 

There are also situations where standing up and following what the Lord has commanded could result in a sentence by the court of public opinion. One such sentence might be “cancellation.” Is that something we fear? 

Can we be courageous in the face of social cancellation? Is following Jesus Christ’s commandments way more important than anything the world can throw at us? I think many of you are probably nodding your heads up and down. 

We live in really strange times, when right and wrong (according to the world) seem to be literally changing by the day. We can find peace in the fact that God has never changed, and His right and wrong are the same today as they were in Daniel’s day. 

We can look at Daniel’s example and have courage in the Lord like he did. 

Most of all, we look to Christ, His death and resurrection, along with His forgiveness for those who love and serve Him. That’s what counts. 

If we accept Him and endure until the end, then we will spend eternity with Him. 

Be of good courage today, trusting and having faith in the same God that Daniel did. The results for us will be just as miraculous as they were for him!

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.