Jealousy can be brutal.
Everyone has been jealous of someone at some point in their lives.
Jealous as defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary
: hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage
: intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness
: tending to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness
: vigilant in guarding a possession
There is always a stand out athlete that performs well and gets labeled ‘greatest of all time” or GOAT. We see the glamour, but we don’t always see what it took to get there and walk through the success.
Someone is always going to break your record. Someone is always going to think of something more amazing than you. Someone is always going to be smarter than you. Someone will always be more beautiful than you.
Being the best is fleeting.
If you put your faith and trust in God, you will always win, because your mind will be on the Greatest One, God. If your heart is focused on God, you will feel like the greatest, happy and heart full.
Today I read Daniel 6, before Daniel was put in the lions’ den. It focuses on how he ended up in the lions’ den
The king chose Daniel and two others to have great authority in the kingdom. Daniel was more capable and set to get a promotion to place him over the entire empire.
Those around him weren’t hugging him and clapping him on his back proclaiming ‘well done sir’!
The other administrators were jealous, hostile to get Daniel out of this position at any cost, even death. Instead of working harder at their own jobs, they decided to spend their time trying to find dirt on Daniel. They couldn’t find any. The only thing they found was that he was faithful to God, so they decided to use that against him.
Daniel was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”
—Daniel 6:4-5 (NLT)
The administrators and high officials went to the king and told him to pass a degree that nobody can worship or pray to any god, except the king, or be thrown to the lions. The king signed the law.
What was the intent of the administrators? Did they want to get rid of Daniel at any cost, even getting him killed? Why were they so jealous of him? Did they want his position? Or the power and authority? Did they want to use their positions for their own gain?
Daniel was a stand up guy, doing the right thing and honoring God. Being honorable made others want to set him up and kill him.
Trying to live a good life that pleases God will not be easy. For reasons we cannot comprehend, others will hate us and want to destroy our lives. Not to mention that we are human and will make plenty of our own mistakes.
Keep trying to live a good life anyway, always pray, and let God’s will be done, even when we are thrown into impossible situations and faced with lions trying to devour us. Choose God.
God is the only One that can save us.
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.
Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.”
So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” So King Darius signed the law.
—Daniel 6:1-9 (NLT)
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Amen, Karen. Daniel is such a powerful example of what it means to remain faithful to God when everything around us is pushing in the opposite direction. I particularly love the point you make that being “the best” in this world is always fleeting. There will always be someone faster, stronger, richer, more successful or more gifted than us, and if our identity is built on those things, we will always be chasing something that can never truly satisfy.
But when our eyes are fixed on God, the whole perspective changes. We don’t have to compete for worth, recognition or approval because our identity is already secure in Christ.
Daniel didn’t compromise his relationship with God just because obedience suddenly became dangerous. He continued to pray, continued to trust and continued to stand firm, even when he knew exactly where that faithfulness could lead him.
And that’s the challenge for us today. We may not face a den of lions, but there will always be pressures trying to make us compromise, conform or put something else before God.
Choose God. Keep praying. Keep standing. And leave the outcome in His hands.
As you so rightly say, God is the only One who can save us. And when He is our focus, we really can’t lose. 🙏
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Amen!
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Amen and amen 🙏🏽 choose God! We can’t lose
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Yesss!
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