Whose mind is stayed on Him

    In Daniel chapter 6, we read the story of Daniel, a Jew who was in the service of the Babylonian king. He conducted himself with such a spirit and attitude of excellence that he found favour with the king who considered putting him in charge of the entire kingdom. The other governors and satraps were not pleased with this and looked for ways to bring charges against him. Unfortunately, they could find none because he truly displayed a spirit of excellence as he carried out his duties.
    They finally encouraged the king to enforce a law whereby anyone praying to any god or person, other than the king himself, within thirty days, would be thrown into the lions’ den. This they did knowing that Daniel prayed regularly to his God. When Daniel found out that the decree had been signed by the king, he went to his room and prayed to his God as was his custom. The men saw him and brought it to the king’s attention. The king in turn did everything in his power to deliver Daniel however, in the end, he had no choice  but to obey the decree he had signed. The next morning, when the king went to check on Daniel, he discovered that the lions had not touched him. Daniel’s God had delivered him. 
    This is a story of God’s miraculous deliverance. It gives us the facts about what happened. However, it does not clearly reveal Daniel’s feelings. What we read is that he heard about the decree and that the king had signed it and that he did exactly what he always did - he went to his room and prayed to his God three times that day. Daniel trusted in his God. He believed in his God. He knew that no matter what happened, his God was in charge and he was going to take care of him. 
    This tells me that Daniel felt peace about the situation. It was what it was, the law had been decreed. No matter what happened, he would still serve his God. I don’t know if fear was present, the account does not say. What it does say is that he went about his business as usual. In fact, when he heard the decree had been signed, he went home and prayed. He did not hesitate, he did not even try to do it in secret. He opened his window toward Jerusalem, as he usually did, and he prayed and gave God thanks.
    Daniel’s peace was because of his confidence and trust in his God. He knew what his God could do. After all, He had delivered his friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego when they were thrown into the fiery furnace because they refused to bow before any other god but their own (Daniel 3). And if God could deliver them, He could deliver him as well. 
    In recent times, I have been asking God to fix my eyes and my heart on Him so that no matter what comes my way, I am focused on Him. I may not be able to stop the negative things that will come my way, but I can choose to focus on the One who is able to take me through that situation. I think this is what Daniel did. He chose to keep his eyes fixed on his God. This gave him a sense of peace. No matter how things went, he would not worry, he would not try to compromise to save himself. It was what it was but he was who he was - a servant of the living God and God would take care of him in this situation. The king, on the other hand, was so distressed that he fasted and refused any entertainment, the entire night. The next morning he hurried to the lions’ den hoping to hear that Daniel’s God had delivered him. He was not disappointed and gave glory to Daniel’s God. 
    I pray the same for us, that we would so fix our eyes and heart on our God that no matter what comes our way, we can be at peace knowing that God will take care of us. No one likes when trouble comes, but when our lives are hidden in the God who is able to do all things, we can be at peace. It’s about being at peace in the midst of whatever stormy situation we are facing, because we know that we know that God will take care of us and He will work all things together for our good.
    If you have not accepted Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Lord and Saviour, I encourage you to do so today. God is that agent of peace that enables us to face every negative and fearful situation that comes our way. We can’t stop the negative from happening but when we fix our eyes on Him, He will strengthen us and give us a peace that makes no sense.​

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