Daniel in the Lion's Den. Remember that story? If you remember anything at all about it remember this: Daniel was put in the lion's den because he worshiped the true God.

And When Daniel landed in that lion’s den, he understood one thing very well: he was not in charge of changing his situation. He was at the mercy of God and so that’s where he went. Does this remind you of anyone else in the Bible? A person who was faced with impossible odds, certain death and unimaginable pain; someone who threw himself at the mercy of God? Daniel reminds me of Christ!

Christ endured the lion’s den, too. His whole life was a kind of lion’s den. He was rejected and abused. He was abandoned not just by Judas, but by the church, by the government, by his own disciples and most of all by God himself! Christ lived that lion’s den. And never once did he stumble. Never once did he give in to the temptation to fight off those who were trying to snuff him out. Never once did he grumble to God that his work was too much for him. Oh yes, he suffered! Oh yes, he prayed so hard his sweat was like drops of blood! But he never for an instant wavered in his commitment to serve God faithfully.

…Because he was committed to you. He was committed to giving his life for your life. He was committed to earning perfect faithfulness for every unfaithful person like you and me.Christ’s perfect life is our perfect life. And that means that Christ’s whole life of being perfectly faithful is yours, too. Christ has covered you with his perfection.

If God views you through the perfect life of Christ, then God holds nothing against you because Christ has taken care of sin. Instead, just live! Just go and do! Worship, study God's word, pray to him—practice your faith.

And when we come up against the sinfulness of this world, Daniel helps us see the only way to survive the lion’s den is to practice our faith. Faith leads us back to Christ, who was faithful in our place. So when your faith is challenged, respond with more faith.