In the Lion's Den

Oh yes, Matt and I are not still stuck at Dulles in a thunderstorm. Though when we did get cleared to take off, the pilot referred to us as "the pathfinder, the first plane given permission to go west through the storm to find a route between all the major thunderstorm cells that other planes could follow." I wasn't very excited to be a pioneer at that moment, but I was also too tired to really care. Plus what do you do at that moment...press the flight attendant call button and lodge a protest. "Could you please tell Mr. Pilot that I am not as adventurous as he is and that I did not buy the Pathfinder thrill ride fare, just the basic economy fare?"

Yesterday I spoke at X Track. Its the 5 weeek cross cultural preparation class for our staff who are headed for international assignments. It is always so encouraging to be with them. You rarely find a more teachable audience. They are following Jesus to the edge of their comfort zone, out on an edge where their faith has never been before.

To lift their spirits, I took them on my own little journey through Daniel 6. Here is the short summary. In first grade, we learn the lesson of Daniel in the Lion's Den. God rescues those who follow Him. I like that lesson. It is helpful, it comforts me.

It's just that as we grow in faith, we need to teach the other lesson of Daniel 6 that precedes deliverance, i.e. sometimes following God fully will get you thrown in a lion's den. There is a good reason we don't drive this point home to first graders on the flannel board at Vacation Bible School. "Okay kids, who wants to get thrown in the lion's den? Just follow Jesus with your whole heart, and eventually you'll get that chance. It may not be until your 70, but just wait, it will happen."

This teaching would really hurt our VBS numbers.

However, as we grow we need to not only be challenged by the example of Daniel's integrity and dedication to follow God fully, and God's deliverance of those He loves, but also that following Jesus will at some point, and probably many points, lead us into lion's dens and fiery furnaces of challenges where the outcomes are not certain.

Because sometimes you get a physical deliverance, and sometimes you don't.
Try on Hebrews 11:35-38. A nice cheery verse you don't find in a lot of Christian bookstores. No bumper stickers will be made with this on it.