Faithful obedience doesn't just impact us, it impacts others around us. Have you ever been impacted by someone else's obedience? In this month's Cornerstone blog, we're going to see how Daniel's obedience to God impacted those around him, including the new king.
Babylon finally had a ruler who knew the power of God – King Darius. When he got into power, he reorganized the political system into provinces with a plan to make Daniel the prime minister over all of them. When other officials heard about Daniel's power, they became jealous and wanted to find a way to impeach or charge him. However, they couldn't find anything that he had done wrong.
This didn't change the fact that they wanted Daniel out of power, so the officials planned a trap for Daniel and used Darius' vanity against him. They told Darius that all of his politicians unanimously agreed on a new piece of legislation, except Daniel was out of the loop about this without Darius knowing. The legislation required that the kingdom pray in Darius’ name alone for 30 days. If anyone prays to another, they would have to go through a “trial by lions”.
The other leaders knew that Daniel would continue to pray to God; however, Darius wasn't thinking about that when he signed the piece of legislation. After Daniel heard about the decree, his first response was in fact to pray; however, he didn't pray to Darius, he prayed toward Jerusalem. The officials knew this would happen and went to King Darius as soon as they saw Daniel praying.
14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. 15 Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed.” 16 Then the king commanded, and Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, deliver you!” 17 And a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. - Daniel 6:14-18
When Darius heard about Daniel, he was in distress. Darius really liked Daniel, but he knew he couldn't go back on the decree. After Daniel was thrown into the lion's den, Darius couldn't sleep that night as he was anxious for Daniel. During this time, Darius was also angry with the conspiratorial governors who devised the plan against Daniel. King Darius was put in an uncomfortable situation because he let his pride and ego get in the way when he signed the legislation. Has your pride or ego ever led you into uncomfortable situations?
Although Darius was anxious throughout the night, Daniel wasn't! He trusted and had faith that God would protect him from the lion. We see in the text that God protects Daniel that night in the lion's den! Darius was overjoyed when he saw Daniel was still alive. He was still very angry with the governors who tricked him, and he had them punished in the same way that they wanted to punish Daniel – throwing them in the lion's den. However, these men didn't have God's protection like Daniel did.
Daniel 6:25-28
25 Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you. 26 I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel,
for he is the living God,
enduring forever;
his kingdom shall never be destroyed,
and his dominion shall be to the end.
27 He delivers and rescues;
he works signs and wonders
in heaven and on earth,
he who has saved Daniel
from the power of the lions.”
28 So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
What's incredible afterwards is Darius' response – he writes a new order for his kingdom, calling the entire kingdom to worship Daniel's God. This shows the massive impact Daniel had on Darius and others around him because of his faithful obedience. Through this entire passage, we can see how not everyone will like when you stand up in faith and remain obedient to God; however, when you do remain obedient, it can have a big impact on those around you! Have you ever been put into tough situations because of your faith in God? It’s likely we haven't been tested in an extreme way like Daniel was tested, but we should expect to have our faith tested in some way.
Cornerstone Impact Update
For the beginning of 2024, we've been going through a mini-series: Objections of BRI. Through this series, we have discussed some of the common objections people have given us with Biblically Responsible Investing and our Cornerstone Portfolios. Each month, we talked about an objection and the rebuttal or how we have responded when we received each objection.
The series wrapped up last month by focusing on management styles. Oftentimes, people believe that with BRI you have to settle for a passive approach to investing instead of having different options available based on your investing goals and time horizon. Find out how that's not the case when you work with us!
Courtney Dent
Inspire
June is Gay Pride Month, and you've probably already seen many companies changing their profile pictures on social media to include the gay pride flag/colors. As Christians, are we supposed to just not shop or support any of these companies supporting gay pride? Inspire's CEO, Robert Netzly shares more on what Christian investors should be doing:
Robert Netzly, CEO.jpg)
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