He is the Living God

“For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth” (Daniel 6:26-27).

These words are written in the chapter that contains the well-known story of Daniel in the lions’ den. We might expect to hear that the words were spoken by Daniel himself – a wise and faithful man of God – but they weren’t. These are the words of King Darius the Mede, king of Babylon.

King Darius, who had recently been made king after the death of Belshazzar, found himself with a conundrum. Royal officials, envious of Daniel’s favour with the king, cunningly appealed to the inexperienced king Darius’ ego and convinced him to issue a decree – that anyone who prays to any God or man except Darius should be thrown into the lions’ den.

Daniel was then discovered praying as he always did – three times a day with his window open toward Jerusalem – and king Darius had no option but to carry out his decree.

After a sleepless night, Darius came near the lions’ den and, in an amazing act of faith, called out, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel, of course, replied that God had indeed protected him.

After lifting Daniel out of the den, King Darius issued a new decree, that, “people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.” Then he spoke that wonderful confession, “For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.”

This begs the question: How often wouldn’t you or I benefit from a dose of Darius’s confidence in God? Our energy is so easily sapped by worry, our lives captured by discouragement, or our actions motivated by fear. We can easily feel that things around us are out of control.

When we are enmeshed in our concerns, we can easily leave out the most important consideration – the existence, character and eternal plan of God. “He is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.”

Things in life will often seem out of control. There will always be things that don’t make sense to us. We may feel small, weak or ill-equipped to deal with whatever is before us. We may be plagued with regret, burdened by worry, paralysed by fear, or captured by discouragement, but among us is the Living God, a God of glorious wisdom, power and grace who rules every moment of every situation, and through Jesus, has us and our lives in his hand.

We are reminded of that each time we pray the conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, saying with confidence, ‘for the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen!’ There is a heavenly throne, and on it sits a God of unimaginable power and majesty, ruling everything for our glory and our good, both now and forever.

Commit whatever grieves you
into the gracious hands
of him who never leaves you,
who heaven and earth commands,
who points the clouds their courses,
whom winds and waves obey;
he will direct your footsteps
and find for you a way.

LHS 409 v. 1, Paul Gerhardt 1607-76
Tr cento based on Arthur Tozer Russell (1851), alt