I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”
Devotional Thoughts
By David Wilkerson
If you tell the world that Jesus is your Lord and Savior, a God who can perform the impossible, they will watch to see how you react in impossible situations. And the devil looks on, too, hoping your faith will fail.
The Psalmist writes, “Oh, how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have prepared for those who trust in You in the presence of the sons of men!” (Psalm 31:19). What is this great goodness that God lays up for those who trust in him through trying times? It is an impenetrable, glorious testimony to the world that your faith can survive any situation.
We see this kind of testimony in Daniel. His jealous co-governors devised a plot against him, convincing King Darius to ban prayer for thirty days. Daniel was fully aware of the penalty for continuing to pray, yet he knew the Lord would see him through. Just as his peers predicted, Daniel disobeyed the ban and kept praying three times a day.
Although King Darius respected Daniel, he was forced by his own decree to cast this devout man into the lions’ den. The king assured Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you” (Daniel 6:16). Yet, that night the king couldn’t sleep (6:18).
We know how God responded to Daniel’s faith — he shut the mouths of the hungry lions! In the morning King Darius was up early, anxious to see if God had answered Daniel’s prayers. You can imagine the king’s joy when he heard Daniel’s voice praising God (6:21-22).
Because of this great demonstration of God’s keeping power, King Darius wrote a decree that impacted an entire kingdom: “Men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God” (6:26-27).
The world still longs to see a testimony of God’s great power in the lives of those who proclaim his name — those who believe what they preach and never doubt his Word.