My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, (Daniel 6:22 ESV)
Fear Not… and Close Your Eyes
Our house had a den when I was growing up. It contained a couch, a couple of chairs, a guinea pig tank, and a television set. I have seen other similarly-purposed rooms in other folks’ homes. Usually a den is comfortable, relaxing, and entertainment oriented.
Not so Daniel’s Den of Lions.
It was not comfortable, relaxing, or very entertaining. Unless you were a lion.
But perhaps the biggest difference is that the lions’ den, if it had been constructed in the usual way such dens were made in the ancient middle east was dark.
This was no interesting zoo exhibit. It was probably a cave, with the entrance sealed. Much like a tomb. Purposefully. Dark and scary and dangerous.
So, imagine Daniel being put in that den. And the door shut behind him. He could not see the lions prowling, but he would hear them sniffing. He could not see the lions’ hunger, but he could imagine it. He could not see his danger, but he knew it was there.
But the darkness of that den allowed his faith to grow. Because as terrifying as the lions might have been if he could have observed them, Daniel knew that God was more awesome even though Daniel had never seen Him.
And that faith allowed Daniel to draw some conclusions that were so true they ended up in the Bible. God must have sent His angels to shut the lions’ mouth.
Our fear often takes root and grows in the light, sound, texture, and odor perceived by our senses. God’s folk tend to trust those senses more than we trust the spiritual assurance of God’s promises and love. Maybe we’d find faith more graspable if we were not so sense sensitive.
Fear not, and close your eyes.