7. Headwind

FLASHBACK

What did you experience with God this week?
In the last few days, did you have the opportunity to share an experience with God with someone close to you that doesn’t know Jesus yet? Or could you pray for them or help them practically?
Do you need God‘s help in an area of your life?

■ Pray together: Give thanks for your experiences, ask God for help where you need it.

■ Pray together to learn new things about God and that your relationship with God deepens and gets stronger.

BIBLE STUDY

The book of Daniel is named after a young aristocrat from the tribe of Judah, who was deported to Babylon after the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. He first served at the Babylonian court and later advised the Persian rulers who conquered the Babylonian kingdom after 539 BC. This is the history leading up to chapter 6.

Read the passage silently. What words or phrases stick out?
One person reads the passage out loud.
One person retells the passage in his/her own words (Bibles closed).
If necessary, the others complement what was said (Bibles closed).

Daniel 6:1-17

¹It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, ² with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. ³ Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom. ⁴ At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. ⁵ Finally these men said, “We will never find any basis for charges against this man Daniel unless it has something to do with the law of his God.”

⁶So these administrators and satraps went as a group to the king and said: “May King Darius live forever! ⁷The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or human being during the next thirty days, except to you, Your Majesty, shall be thrown into the lions’ den. ⁸Now, Your Majesty, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”⁹So King Darius put the decree in writing.

¹⁰Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.¹¹Then these men went as a group and found Daniel praying and asking God for help.¹²So they went to the king and spoke to him about his royal decree: “Did you not publish a decree that during the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human being except to you, Your Majesty, would be thrown into the lions’ den?”

The king answered, “The decree stands—in accordance with the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.”

¹³Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, Your Majesty, or to the decree you put in writing. He still prays three times a day.”¹⁴When the king heard this, he was greatly distressed; he was determined to rescue Daniel and made every effort until sundown to save him.

¹⁵Then the men went as a group to King Darius and said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, that according to the law of the Medes and Persians no decree or edict that the king issues can be changed.”

¹⁶So 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!”

¹⁷A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel’s situation might not be changed.

Everyone by themselves:
- What words or phrases stick out now? Are there any differences to what you noticed before?
- Why do you feel drawn to those words or phrases?
- What can you learn about people?
- What could God be telling you?
Share in the group.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS & ACTION STEPS

Is your trust in God big enough that you can obey Him without anyone around to support and encourage you?
Is God’s will your first priority? If not, where do you make compromises when facing opposition or resistance? How can other people recognise that in your life?

■ Pray (in groups of two to three people) for courage and faith to be obedient to God in all situations, where you work, study and relax.

■ Pray that each of you can better hear the Holy Spirit’s voice in everyday situations.

SCRIPTURE COMMENTS

Daniel was probably still a teenager (maybe 15 or 16 years old) when he was brought to the Babylonian court. Even at this young age the Babylonian program for re-education did not work on him and his group (see Daniel 1:1-16)! They remained faithful to the God of Israel and His values. The only thing the Babylonians could change were their names: Daniel ( “ God is my judge”) was named Belteshazzar ( “ Bel to protect the King”), Mishael (“Who is like God?”) was named Mesach (“Who is like Aku – the God of the moon?”), Hananiah (“God is gracious”) was named Shadrach (“command of Aku”), Asarja (“Jahwe will help”) was named Abed-Nego (“Nebo’s Slave”).

Where and how do you let yourself be influenced by your environment?

OTHER LANGUAGES