Lions, Lions, and Lions...

Happy Sunday!

Years ago, and for a period of time, I stopped listening to Gospel music after I heard a soloist proclaim that Daniel put his foot on the neck of the lion in the lion's den.  I can't find that in scripture.  Can you?  But what I do find in scripture is this, "Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of LIONS. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee."(Daniel 6:16, KJV).  Don't miss this!  There were lions plural.  So if it was as the soloist sang, what were the other lions doing while Daniel had his foot on the one singular lion?

Ok, so you think I'm being unreasonable, and nit-picking.  I most certainly am not!  The visual of one lion diminishes the significance of the true miracle that occurred for Daniel.  God delivered Daniel from an impossible situation.  This was so serious the scripture says the king couldn't sleep that night.  The Bible says, "Then King Darius went back to his house. He did not eat that night. He did not want anyone to come and entertain him. He could not sleep all night."(Daniel 6:18, Easy-to-Read Version).  Daniel was not a lion tamer.  He was a good man falsely accused and sentenced to death for praying.  

It happens all the time, are you guilty?  Do you lose sight of the tremendous miracle working power of our God?  Are you disappointed because things didn't work out like you thought they would, so you secretly stop trusting God?  Our God is an awesome God!  He has not changed!  He is still trustworthy.  

What really happened?  So glad you asked!  Let's read Daniel 6:19-23.  "At daybreak the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. As he approached the den, he called out anxiously, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve so loyally, saved you from the lions?” “O king, live forever!” said Daniel. “My God sent his angel, who closed the mouths of the LIONS so that they would not hurt me. I’ve been found innocent before God and also before you, O king. I’ve done nothing to harm you". When the king heard these words, he was happy. He ordered Daniel taken up out of the den. When he was hauled up, there wasn’t a scratch on him. He had TRUSTED his God.”(Message).

In case you were wondering if those lions were vicious, "The king gave yet another order; this time he demanded that those who accused Daniel of wrongdoing be captured and thrown into the lions’ den—but not only them—their wives and children too. As they were being pushed into the den, before they even hit the bottom, the lions jumped on them, overpowered them, and crushed their bones in their powerful jaws."(Daniel 6:24, Voice).  Ouch!

Don't let unbelief creep in in any way, not even in a seemingly harmless song.  Our Powerful God specializes in miracles, signs, and wonders!  His Word is truth!

The Psalmist proclaimed, "For ever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven."(Psalm 119:89, KJV).

Love and prayers, Cynthia