Daniel

The book of Daniel in the Bible is quickly becoming one of my favorites. And not because it shares my name (which I do happen to like). What I am consistently being struck by as I read through this book is how much faith Daniel has. Not only does Daniel have faith in God to do incredible things through him, but along the path he is constantly talking about how broken he is.

Now, I know that lots of Bible characters have a lot of faith. There are countless people over the years that have had to trust in the promises of God only to watch him fully provide. But Daniel chooses to say no to the temptations of the world in favor of the promises of his Lord. In interpreting dreams, he has faith that God will reveal the true meanings to him. In disobeying the king and continuing to pray to God, he has faith that he is serving the true King. In being thrown into the Lions Den, he has faith that God will protect him. This is not even to mention the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who had faith that God would help them survive being thrown into a furnace. Underlying their faith in these specific aspects of God's character is a faith that God is real, that He is alive, that He is moving, and that He loves them deeply.

Now, I'm not going to lie, if these things happened to me, I would have a hard time controlling my ego. The moment I walked out of the lions den unscathed, part of me would be thinking, "All of these people are pretty impressed with me. I like it." I would have a temptation to tell myself that I am great and try and steal glory from God.

But this is what really intrigues me about Daniel. He seems to have the exact opposite reaction that I envision myself having. His prayer in chapter 9 is as humble as humble gets. He reveals a heart that is so aware of the fact that he has been redeemed without reason. He has been forgiven by a merciful God :

"The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you." Verse 9-11

"We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy." Verse 18

Sometimes my view of God is so small and my view of my self is gigantic. I know that God is real and that a perfectly merciful and just God has forgiven me. I know that He sent Jesus to bear every sin I have ever committed on the cross so that there would be a way that I could be in a relationship with him.

But I still have such little faith. At times, my heart has a hard time grasping what my head knows so certainly. I rely on my own power. And when I succeed, my prayer is rarely that of Daniel's. Sure, when I mess up that is my prayer, but almost never when I am successful.

I want Daniel's faith. I want to be unafraid when I walk into a lions den because I know that my God is fully sovereign. I want Daniel's prayer to be true of my heart all the time. I want to be in constant recognition that I have rebelled against God and it is only because of his mercy that I can even approach Him in prayer.

I am so thankful that God knows me fully, that he knows I lack faith at times and am prideful at times. I am so thankful that he can see my brokenness in its fullness. And He still loves me. I am so thankful.