Daniel: Always trust God --- No matter what!
Daniel 6:1-28
Today I’m going to talk to you about a man in the Bible named Daniel. Have you heard of him? What do you know about Daniel? If Daniel could be here right now, I know what he would say to you. He would say this: Always trust God – no matter what! Can you say that with me: (repeat 2 or 3 times)
You see, Daniel trusted God for ALL his life. When he was your age, he grew up in a country called Israel. His parents taught him about His wonderful God. They taught him that he should always follow God’s laws, no matter what. Daniel grew up playing with his cousins. How many of you get to play with your cousins?
Daniel’s cousins were named Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. When they were playing games in Israel, Daniel might have called them Han, Mish, and Az! When Daniel was a little older than you are --- maybe about 12 or 13 years old … everything changed for him.
A King named Nebuchadnezzar went to war against the country of Israel. After he won the war, he took some of the young boys --- like Daniel, Han, Mish, and Az --- all back to his country with him. His country was named Babylon. The people who lived in Babylon did NOT know about God. They did not know about God’s laws, and they did not know that God loved them.
But Daniel remembered what his parents taught him (say it with me): Always trust God --- no matter what! King Nebuchadnezzer put Daniel and his cousins in a special school where they learned all kinds of good things, like how to read and write and do math … but this was a school that did not follow God’s laws. Theygave the students the kinds of food and drink that went against God’s laws for Israel.
Daniel went to the school teacher and he said, “I want to obey my God’s laws. So please let me just drink water instead of wine. And let me eat vegetables and good meats instead of what the others are eating.” The school teacher said, “Oh, no, I can’t do that! You have to do what the KING says!” But Daniel said, “I have to do what my GOD says. Let me and my cousins eat the way God’s Law says. After a few months, you will see that we will be stronger and healthier than any of the other boys!”
So the school teacher decided to give it a try. And guess what? After a few months, Daniel and his cousins all looked stronger and healthier than any of the other boys! Their skin was smoother … their hair was thicker and shinier … their teeth were whiter … and their muscles were bigger. And all because they remembered what their parents taught them (say it with me): Always trust God --- no matter what!
If YOU trust God, then you will grow up stronger and healthier, too --- because God’s Word tells us how to live a good and healthy kind of life!
Well, years went by, and God watched over Daniel and his cousins while they grew up from boys to men. King Nebuchadnezzar got old and died and a new king took his place. His name was Beltshazzar. Then another King took over. His name was Darius the Meade.
But no matter what KING was in charge, Daniel remembered what his parents taught him. (say it with me): Always trust God --- no matter what!
By the time Darius became King, Daniel and his cousins were all grown up. Darius named 120 men to be RULERS in his Kingdom, and he chose Han, Mish, and Az to be in that group. Then Darius chose just THREE special men to be the big RULERS over everyone. Guess who one of those men was?
Yes, DANIEL … Daniel was one of the most powerful rulers in Babylon. Daniel was a good ruler. He wise and kind and strong and good.
If YOU trust God and follow His laws, YOU will grow up to be wise and kind and strong and good, too. Because God’s Word shows us how to live the right way.
Almost everyone loved Daniel because he was such a good ruler. But a few people did NOT like Daniel. These leaders did NOT believe in Daniel’s God, and they wanted to find a way to make the King stop liking Daniel, too. But even though they spied on Daniel every day, they couldn’t catch him doing anything wrong.
They DID see that Daniel did something different from other people. Three times every day, Daniel would go to his window and kneel down and pray to His God. That gave these evil men an idea! They finally knew how they could get Daniel in trouble.
The men went to King Darius and they said, “Oh, King, live forever…” (that’s the first thing everyone said to the King in those days) Then they said, “We have a great idea. Make a new law that says: for the next 30 days, no one can pray to anyone except King Darius! And if anyone breaks this law then they will be thrown to the lions.” Then they lied and said, “All the other leaders think this is a good idea.”
King Darius believed their lie. He thought EVERYONE (even Daniel) thought this was a good law. So he signed a paper that made it an official law. Now, here was the problem. Back then, if a King signed a Law, then no one could change it … not even the King!”
Well, as soon as Darius signed this law, these evil men went over to Daniel’s house and waited for him to come to his window and pray to his God. Daniel knew about this new law. But Daniel thought, “All my life I have obeyed my God, and I’m not going to stop now!” Daniel remembered what his parents had taught him (can you tell me what it is?) Always trust God --- no matter what!
So Daniel went to the window and prayed just like he did every day. Those evil men went running to King Darius and told him that Daniel broke his new law. The King was so sad! He liked Daniel … but he couldn’t change the law that he had signed. So he told his soldiers to arrest Daniel and bring him to the Lion’s Den.
When they threw Daniel into a pit that was full of hungry lions, the King said, “Daniel, may your God whom you always serve come and rescue you!” Then they King went back to his palace. He was sure he would never see Daniel again because the King knew the lions were ferocious and hungry. And he knew that lions always hunt and eat at night. The King was so sad and upset that he couldn’t eat his dinner, and he couldn’t sleep all night!
The next morning --- as soon as the sun started coming up --- King Darius went to the Lion’s Den and called out, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you always serve, been able to rescue you from the Lions?”
From inside the lion’s den, the King heard Daniel’s voice reply, “Oh king, live forever…” (remember, you always have to start that way) “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the Lions. They have not hurt me because I was innocent in God’s sight, nor have I ever done anything wrong before you, oh king.”
The King ordered his soldiers to pull Daniel out of the Lion’s Den. He looked Daniel up and down and saw that he didn’t have even a scratch on him and his clothes weren’t even torn! Then the King told his soldiers to go find those evil men who tried to get Daniel killed --- and the King told his soldiers to throw THEM into the lions den!
Then the King made a new law. This law said “All the people in my country must respect the God of Daniel because He saved Daniel from the lions.”
Daniel continued to work as a ruler in Babylon for many more years. From the time he was a little boy --- all the way until he finally got old and died ---Daniel always remembered what his parents taught him (let’s say it one more time): Always trust God --- no matter what!
