If you were found guilty of a crime, what would it be? God’s people sometimes get in good trouble. Peter wrote, “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. ‘Do not fear their threats; do not be frightened” (1 Peter 3:14).
Daniel lived this truth hundreds of years before Peter was born. To trap Daniel, his enemies had to pass a law forbidding prayer. That’s right. The only thing they could find wrong with Daniel is that he insisted on praying. So they passed a law against praying. But Daniel kept on praying, right in front of windows that opened toward Jerusalem. When his critics told their leader about Daniel’s crime, the King reluctantly punished him by throwing him to the lions.
We know the end of the story. God closed the lions’ mouths and protected Daniel from harm. The king knew God had done it and called Daniel’s God, the living God. When God’s people live life in God’s way, we may indeed find ourselves in trouble. But what is the alternative? Has the church ever gained ground by compromising with the world’s value system?
Again, Peter, who was also imprisoned and miraculously delivered in answer to prayer concluded, “For it is better if it is God’s will to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:17-18). So, if we ever suffer as Christians, we should not be ashamed but praise God that we bear that name (1 Peter 4:16).
