“So the king gave an order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lion’s den. The king said to Daniel ‘May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!’”
My close friends know me pretty well. They know I like to ride bikes, and I can hold my own against any handyman at the house and in the garage. My family often calls me whenever anything goes wrong because they all know, chances are, I can fix it. Kind of scary, because whether the fix is complicated or simple, I am usually the first call they make. My reputation has preceded me in many respects.
Daniel’s reputation preceded him as well. When the Persians took over Babylon, the Bible says that King Darius was to appoint 120 satraps, or governors if you will, to help keep the kingdom in balance and aligned with the king. Darius especially noticed Daniel because he was trustworthy and did everything wonderfully. He even was going to give Daniel the second-in-command spot over all the kingdom. He must have been amazing at his job to have such an honor placed upon him.
This upset the other satraps, and they devised a plan to get him thrown into the lions’ den. Our verse comes from the place where King Darius is about to throw Daniel into the lions’ den. He says, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” King Darius knew about Daniel and how he prayed three times a day, and that he was wholly devoted to serving God. He stood out among the rest as exceptional in many ways. This put a target on his back from the non-believers around him who were jealous of his favor. I have heard many times, favor is not fair. God had his hand on Daniel, and whatever he touched turned out to be good, and everyone noticed. His reputation preceded him.
Does anybody know about your devotion to Christ? Is your faith such a closed-door relationship with Jesus, that no one around would even guess you pray or read your Bible? Who do your friends think you are? If we are to mimic Jesus Christ, then people should know about Christ in our lives, and it should be easily seen in just about anything we do.
Devotion to the Lord was in Daniel’s life, and everyone knew about it, even the king of Persia. Today, make an effort to work Christ into your public life. Don’t be ashamed of the gospel, or quickly change the subject when it comes up. You have a testimony, and something the Lord has done for you. Tell someone about it. Tell someone that you prayed to the Lord for a good job and you got one. Tell someone about the peace you felt during that loss of a loved one. Tell someone how one verse you read really spoke to you. Show the love of Christ in your actions, and tell someone that Jesus loves them. Little things we all should do, but are guilty of passing on. You are the greatest Christian someone knows, so be bold and live a Christian life open to the public, and not behind closed doors.
Prayer: Father, I pray that we live an open Christian life. I pray that everyone around us knows of our devotion to you, Lord. I pray that everything we do for you, Lord, is visible to the ones around us so we can give you glory. I pray that we no longer are afraid or passive about our faith in Christ. I pray for boldness and strength, giving all the glory to the Father in all we do, say, or walk through. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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