"Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God."
Daniel 6:18-23
I love the king in this story. He allows himself to be flattered into signing a law that is designed to get Daniel, his trusted counselor, killed, and the political forces of the time force him to go through with throwing Daniel into the den of lions. But as he is doing so he says "Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee." He believes, but has a really rough night, worried about Daniel, and he gets to the den really early and calls out in anguish, hoping that Daniel is somehow still alive. And he is, the night he likely spent petitioning God on Daniel's behalf has been heard and a miracle granted.
The miracle here isn't just for Daniel, who definitely deserved to be saved, but also for the King who is angry at himself for letting people talk him into this crazy law and who loves Daniel and wants him to live... and who trusted enough to go to the lion's dan early in the morning to find out.
Later, he sends out a decree telling people about the God of Daniel, calling him the "living God" (as opposed to idols perhaps), and celebrating his greatness... and I can't help thinking that he was honoring the God that helped him when he couldn't do anything himself, even with all his earthly power.
Today, let's also believe, and honor, and trust, the living God of miracles. Let's pray and study his word, and get to know him better and learn from him.
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