I have to confess that following Jesus often confuses me. Not Jesus himself, but the circumstances that I find myself in. I find myself fighting the lies that if you’re good, then God will love you and make you comfortable, and if you are bad, then you will suffer until you start behaving well, at which time God will fix your problems. I find myself frustrated that I cannot see God’s plan, and I turn to performance in hopes that my struggles will go away. These attitudes ultimately lead to fatigue, anxiety, and burnout. The medicine that I need to combat these things is found in Scripture.

One of many examples is found in the Old Testament:  There was a young man named Daniel who was, frankly, a very big deal in his country. He was young, talented, and had nothing but good things in front of him. The Bible describes him and those like him as “youths in whom there was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had the ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the language of the Babylonians.” (Daniel 1:4). Daniel’s future was turned upside down as the nation of Judah, which as a whole had rebelled against God, was conquered by Babylon, whose King was Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel was captured and deported as part of an elite group of young men that Babylon wanted to exploit for its benefit. (See Daniel 1:1-2). This was not what a young man with a promising future expects to encounter! He was brought into a competitive world, where the goal was to assimilate him into an ungodly culture or face death.

Many of us know this Daniel as the one who survived the Lion’s Den. Some may even be aware that he and some friends respectfully refuted the Babylonian food plan in favor of the Jewish diet and prayer disciplines, which God honored and eventually elevated them within the king’s court. Daniel was also called to go before the Babylonian kings to interpret disturbing dreams they had. When no one in the kings’ court could give explanations for their dreams, God revealed their meaning to Daniel. (See Daniel 2 and 5). He continued his faithful worship of the Lord all the days of his life. What very few of us consider, through all of this, Daniel never returned to Israel. The 70 years of captivity (that had been predicted by the prophet Jeremiah (29:1-10) came and went as Daniel served God by righteously serving the pagan kings that God had put over him. Others got to go back home to Israel, but he never did.  

You see, Daniel truly loved and served God without expectation. He did it each day with his diet and prayers. He did it with his 3 friends who survived a fiery furnace. He did it as they served and prayed together. He did it when he told kings hard truths about their dreams when they held the power over his life and death. He even trusted God when he was made to spend the night with some starving lions. He served God in this unwavering way because he knew that God was worthy of all that he had to offer in worship and obedience, no matter his circumstances or outcomes.

So, let’s follow Daniel’s lead and trust God’s sovereignty over all things. When our faith wavers, we must lean on our brothers and sisters in Christ to strengthen us and to hold us accountable.  Ultimately, we need to remember that God is capable of closing the mouths of starving lions, lifting us up when we are in a culture of oppression, and rescuing us from our personal fires. Our job, as Daniel did, is to stay faithful and keep coming to God’s Throne of Grace.