Is Your God Able?

Daniel found himself in the company of a bunch of hungry lions. He had been thrown into their den, but he slept like a baby that night.

King Darius stayed up all night, pacing back and forth in confusion and concern. At dawn, he rushed to the lions’ den, and shouted, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (Daniel 6:20)

Daniel stirred, rubbed his eyes, stretched out his arms, yawned, and answered, “O king, live forever! My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” (Daniel 6:21-22)

Daniel had kept his faith in God, a mark of true Christian integrity. Our Christian integrity is revealed in the public world for God’s glory and our good. There is a lesson here for us. Daniel was in the lions’ den not because he had done wrong but because he had done right. We all know of people who have paid a great price for actually doing what was right. In such cases, our integrity will be revealed to the public as a testimony of our faith in God.

Daniel took no credit for his deliverance. He said, “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths.” (Daniel 6:22)

People of integrity do not take personal credit for something they did not do. So what do we really learn from Daniel’s experience among the lions? We learn that our Christian integrity is reflected in our personal lives. How we respond and react in our circumstances and relationships with those who know us best is directly related to the strength of our life with the Lord.

Our integrity will ultimately be revealed in our public life. Everything King Darius knew about God he learned by observing Daniel’s public life. Think about that. We are being watched, and our world still wants to know, “Is your God able?” They will never know unless we are men and women who put our faith on display.