How to Point People to God Through Your Daily Life
I love a phrase that is repeated in Daniel’s story in the Old Testament book of Daniel. It specifically refers to the king’s opinion of Daniel… If you’re unfamiliar with the story, let me remind you. Daniel was in exile with his fellow Israelites, and he was selected by the king of Babylon to undergo special training through the palace. In the midst of everything, Daniel maintained utmost integrity and stayed faithful and loyal to God. (And if you read through the entire book of Daniel, you’ll see that this certainly was not easy.)
At a certain point, the king, who appreciated and even admired Daniel, got stuck in a hard place. He was ready to promote Daniel to a very high position in the kingdom, but some of Daniel’s jealous peers schemed and plotted against him. Long story short, Daniel maintained his faithful godly habits, and the king was forced to throw him into a den of lions as punishment. You know how the story ends… God saves Daniel from both the lions and King Darius. God protects His people, but even if the lions’ mouths hadn’t stayed closed, Daniel was prepared for any outcome. His trust in God did not depend on happy endings. He was not ashamed to worship God even when the world around him said not to.
But the phrase that most stuck out to me recently was how King Darius described Daniel in Daniel 6. Here are the two verses:
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” -Daniel 6:16, emphasis added
And then a few verses later…
At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” -Daniel 6:19-20, emphasis added
Did you catch how he described Daniel? Or, actually, how King Darius described God? The phrase I’m referring to is, “whom you serve continually.” As I read this portion of Daniel, I stopped and thought to myself, I want people to say that about me. …that I serve God continually.
Would anybody say that about you? I’m not sure they would about me. But the king said this about Daniel! If you read the prior chapters, you’ll see several times where Daniel stood boldly against the culture, uncompromisingly staying faithful to God alone. We likely don’t know everything Daniel was doing that made the king talk about him serving God continuously, but we do know some things by reading through the lines. For example, he prayed regularly and held fast to this holy habit even when he was threatened with his life for doing it (Daniel 7:10). In addition, he simply carried himself with excellence and must have pointed toward God in the process (Daniel 7:3-4).
This excellence, with which he consistently operated, was probably the main reason why King Darius had been about to appoint him as the administrator over the whole kingdom (before his peers got jealous). It could’ve been easy for Daniel to start thinking pretty highly of himself. He was doing things right and probably working hard, and it was about to pay off. When things are going your way, do you start to think well about yourself? And if that’s true, then do you also look to yourself when things aren’t going well? Do you blame yourself for circumstances that are out of your control?
God has been teaching me that it’s not about me. I am not the main character in my story—HE is. And as I heard a pastor say recently, my part in any plan is not the main part or the hard part—HIS is. There’s just no other way to say it. It’s not about me! And it’s not about you, either. Sorry not sorry. 😉
If Daniel had been walking around with his nose stuck up in the air, proud of himself for the way things seemed to be working out in his favor, I don’t think King Darius would have twice referenced him serving God continually. Instead, he might have said something like this:
May your God, who seems to be on your side, rescue you.
Or…
Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, who is the God of your people, been able to rescue you from the lion?
But the king didn’t say either of those things! King Darius called him the God whom Daniel served continuously. Let’s use our imaginations and consider things that must have been true about Daniel for the king to say those words—twice. What does it actually look like to serve God continually? Obviously we can’t be involved in Christ-centered service projects all day every day! So serving God continuously must be a way of life. …a manner in which someone carries herself. Don’t you think?
The book of Daniel doesn’t say these things specifically, but with Daniel’s life example in mind, here are five quick thoughts on what a person who serves God continually looks like today, in 2025.
- She maintains a humble posture.
- She stays consistently connected to God.
- She lives with integrity.
- She stands boldly against the culture when it conflicts with God’s Word.
- She is a servant of the gospel.
May it be said about me that I serve God continually, and may it be said about you, too! What change can you make today that will make someone more likely to speak these words about you?