Not Done Yet

Not Done Yet

October 22, 2018

Daniel 6:27 "He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions."

No doubt, one of the most famous stories in the Bible is the one of Daniel in the lion's den. To recap the story, Daniel found enemies despite not doing anything wrong. Daniel was upright and lived in exile under foreign rule. Daniel prayed to the Lord and served Him, first and foremost. His enemies plotted to get rid of him, as they were jealous of the favor Daniel had with the king. They set him up, to trap him, if Daniel prayed to the Lord in Heaven. Of course Daniel did the right thing, and prayed to the Lord in Heaven, but the law stated Daniel was now a criminal and had to suffer the fate of the lion's den. The king was furious at the trick from Daniel's enemies, but could not reverse the law. Thankfully Daniel was safe in that lion's den but it took the Lord's design to accomplish it.

Most depictions of that story, regarding Daniel, suggest he was of young age. Daniel was anything but young at the time. Daniel was pushing 80 years old at the time of this debacle. So what? What is the significance? Technically, Daniel had lived a full life and the Lord could have simply allowed Daniel to fall asleep and avoid the trial like He did for Stephen five hundred years later. Regardless of how it played out for Daniel, the Lord's design never intended it to end there and the reason was because of Daniels future, still. It is unknown the age at which Daniel actually died, but theologians suggest he was over 100, possibly pushing 120 years old. At 80, Daniel still had worked to do for the Lord.

If you read the book of Daniel, the story of the lion's den is the turning point in the writing and subject matter. The first portions of the book only comment on a few instances of Daniels walk with the Lord, but it encompassed more than 60 years of his life. Then the lion's den happens, and instantly the book of Daniel turns into prophecy and eschatology. For the later portions of the book, riddles and mysteries and prophecies are recorded that baffle theologians still today. The Lord will reveal the meaning of those prophecies in due time but the Lord needed them to be written down. The most crucial parts of Daniel's life were not before the lion's den, but after. The Lord rescued Daniel because Daniel still had work to do. Satan tried to thwart Daniel's life but his life wasn't over yet. The best of Daniel's life, the most important years of serving the Lord were not done yet. He did more in the twilight years of his life than most of us will accomplish from beginning to end.

The point is, Daniel wasn't done yet and the Lord still had so much for Him to do. The Lord rescued Daniel for a reason; Daniel was still willing to serve the Lord. His life wasn't over and there was plenty of work to be done. You may think you missed out on it years ago, that thing you could have done for the Lord, but your life is just beginning, even if you are in your 60's. You never get to retire from serving the Lord and your efforts are needed in your 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's, and even 60's and 70's. There is a new work, not necessarily the old one, and the exciting part is you get to figure it out with the Lord. He has a plan and desires to use you because you are not done yet. Think you accomplished something big for Him already? Just you wait, the best is yet to come, if you let it. The story of Daniel speaks not just to the age of which the Lord can use you, but to the fact that no matter how much opposition from the enemy there is, nothing can stop the Lord's plans. 

Don't take my word for it; look it up: Is 54:17, Daniel 6, Acts 7:54-60, Rom 8:31