Drawing Praise from an Unlikely Source

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by: Timothy Vazquez

09/15/2020

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Daniel 6:26b (NLT) For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.

Truer words have not been spoken than in the Scripture above and this truth appears many times in the Bible from cover to cover. God is Sovereign and He will reign forever, praise the Lord! But what is so striking about this particular portion of scripture is where it came from. These words were uttered by none other than King Darius the Mede, who was the king who conquered Babylon and became ruler over a vast kingdom. King Darius, like so many heathen kings before and after him, was an idol worshipper, believing in and worshipping many gods.

Although King Darius thought very highly of Daniel, God's prophet, he was trapped into decreeing that he be thrown into a lions' den. The next morning, the king anxiously went to the mouth of the den to see if Daniel had survived and to his amazement, he had survived. God had shut the mouths of the hungry lions and did not allow them to harm Daniel. The king, along with everyone else for that matter, was completely astonished and knew that this was not due to happenstance. Throwing people into the lion's den was one of the ways that the Persian kings had people who did wrong things punished and killed. Darius had seen what hungry lions do to people. So there was only one explanation. Daniel's God had delivered him, protecting him from harm to the point that he didn't even have one scratch on him.

Daniel, for his part, was not angry with the king (see Daniel 6:21) and did not protest about being thrown into the lions' den even though he was an innocent man who was a help to King Darius. Because of the way that Daniel approached this serious and life-threatening trial, Darius came to know and honor the God that Daniel served who is the One and only true God. Darius began to glorify the Lord as he saw His wonder-working power. This seemingly tragic event turned into an awe-inspiring miracle in Daniel's life and brought glory and honor to God not only from Daniel, but from a most unlikely place: a pagan king. Because Daniel refused to complain and because he trusted in his God, God not only delivered him, but used his life to be a testimony to people who did not know and honor the Lord as the One and only God. Let's live our lives without complaining and with complete trust in our God so that our lives can be used to bring much glory and honor to the God of our salvation and so that many will come to know Him that way as well.

Pastor Joey Vazquez

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Daniel 6:26b (NLT) For he is the living God, and he will endure forever. His kingdom will never be destroyed, and his rule will never end.

Truer words have not been spoken than in the Scripture above and this truth appears many times in the Bible from cover to cover. God is Sovereign and He will reign forever, praise the Lord! But what is so striking about this particular portion of scripture is where it came from. These words were uttered by none other than King Darius the Mede, who was the king who conquered Babylon and became ruler over a vast kingdom. King Darius, like so many heathen kings before and after him, was an idol worshipper, believing in and worshipping many gods.

Although King Darius thought very highly of Daniel, God's prophet, he was trapped into decreeing that he be thrown into a lions' den. The next morning, the king anxiously went to the mouth of the den to see if Daniel had survived and to his amazement, he had survived. God had shut the mouths of the hungry lions and did not allow them to harm Daniel. The king, along with everyone else for that matter, was completely astonished and knew that this was not due to happenstance. Throwing people into the lion's den was one of the ways that the Persian kings had people who did wrong things punished and killed. Darius had seen what hungry lions do to people. So there was only one explanation. Daniel's God had delivered him, protecting him from harm to the point that he didn't even have one scratch on him.

Daniel, for his part, was not angry with the king (see Daniel 6:21) and did not protest about being thrown into the lions' den even though he was an innocent man who was a help to King Darius. Because of the way that Daniel approached this serious and life-threatening trial, Darius came to know and honor the God that Daniel served who is the One and only true God. Darius began to glorify the Lord as he saw His wonder-working power. This seemingly tragic event turned into an awe-inspiring miracle in Daniel's life and brought glory and honor to God not only from Daniel, but from a most unlikely place: a pagan king. Because Daniel refused to complain and because he trusted in his God, God not only delivered him, but used his life to be a testimony to people who did not know and honor the Lord as the One and only God. Let's live our lives without complaining and with complete trust in our God so that our lives can be used to bring much glory and honor to the God of our salvation and so that many will come to know Him that way as well.

Pastor Joey Vazquez

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