"So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den." Daniel 6:16

It’s dark in the lions' den. It’s dark and lonely. Except for the lions whose low growling and heavy breaths echo throughout the cave, you are all by yourself. At least, it certainly feels that way! I imagine Daniel sitting in that lion’s den all by himself. He’s a man probably of about 80 years old. He’s done his bit. He’s fought the good fight. And this is it. God is going to call him home. He’s there in the darkness, praying to his God, waiting for the end. Is his God listening to him?  Would the enemies of God be victorious?

These days it seems we sit in our own lions’ dens too. Around us we hear the growls of false teaching, social pressure, cultural changes that are happening faster and faster. They threaten to devour us. How do we stand with faithful believers like Daniel, the Apostle Paul, Martin Luther and so many others? How do we hold on to our faith?

Perhaps unexpectedly, the faith that we are striving to protect is, itself, the answer to this. Faith is our lions' den survival guide.

Christ endured the lions' den, too. His whole life was a kind of lion’s den. He was rejected and abused. …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, and even good men like Daniel and Martin Luther. Christ’s perfect life is our perfect life. And that means that Christ’s whole life of being perfectly faithful is yours, too. Through faith, Christ gives you his perfect faithfulness.

Daniel gives us a good example of what to do when we find ourselves in our own lions' den. He helps us see that the only way to survive is to practice our faith in Christ. If we are mocked for our beliefs, we accept that without grumbling. If we are attacked for our faith, we commit ourselves to God who cares for us. If we are appalled with what we see around us, we pray for our world that it would be enlightened by grace. If we struggle, we find strength in God’s promises. Faith is your lions' den survival guide, because it leads you back to Christ, who was faithful for you. So when your faith is challenged, respond with more faith.