Raising a Daniel

"Whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days except you O king shall be cast into the den of lions" (Daniel 6:7 NKJV).

Can you just picture Daniel intently leaning in toward the King as his royal hand prepared to sign the above-mentioned decree. Emotions must have been running rampant within Daniel, for he knew that if the King would sign this decree, he would not be allowed to pray to his God without consequences . . . deadly consequences.

The Bible never recounts Daniel yelling in protest or even trying to dissuade the King, instead Daniel is depicted as a mere bystander. Yet, the moment the King lifted his hand from his signed name Daniel had a choice, he could obey man rather than God OR obey God rather than man. The book of Daniel reveals to us Daniel's choice: "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed he went home. And in his upper  room with his windows open toward Jerusalem he knelt down on his knees three times that day and prayed and gave thanks before his God . . ." (Daniel 6:10 NKJV).

Amazing! It is as if the decree made no effect on him; perhaps because all that was within him was already wholly devoted to God . . . alone! Later, as we know, Daniel is taken into the lion's den for defying the King's decree, but God remained faithful to Daniel and protected him from the fierce lions.

Peer pressure has been around since God made the world, just look back at Adam and Eve. Eve first took a bite of the forbidden fruit, then she persuaded Adam to change his values and conform to hers--perfect example of the origin of peer pressure.

Even at a young age our children are exposed and sometimes succumb to peer pressure, being pressured to wear certain clothes, to eat or not eat certain foods, to watch certain shows, to hear certain music, to believe in certain things, etc. For us mothers, this is a scary reality. However, we need to ensure that our children know the Lord so intimately that when they are confronted with a choice, they will defer to God rather than man--just like Daniel did. You see, Daniel did not fear what man could do to him, instead his focus was solely on the Lord and what the Lord could do to him and what the Lord could do for him.

We are living in a day and age where the ability to profess Jesus Christ as Lord is becoming more and more difficult. As a mother, I sometimes worry what the future will be like for our children, but then I realize that my only true concern for them should be if they choose to please the world and its desires and forsake God and His desires. I have to ask myself "Am I raising my child to be a Daniel?"--fearless of man, yet fearful of God.

SO WHAT ARE WE TO DO?

First, we have the duty to teach our children the Word of God. We need to teach our children God's decrees, so that they know what God wants them to do in ALL circumstances. You have seen those necklaces "WWJD", reminding us to ask what Christ wants us to do in all circumstances. However, instead of draping a shiny silver necklace with this acronym on our children's necks, let us instead engrave this truth in their hearts. Our children need to know God's Word so well that they will KNOW "what Jesus would do" and "what Jesus would NOT do," then act accordingly. 

Second, we need to teach them the fear of the Lord. We need to explain to them that man does not hold their eternity in his hands, but God does. We need to teach them that they need to live for God and serve and please Him in all they do, so that He can one day take them to their eternal home.

Third, we need to help our children love the Lord so intimately that their eyes stay fixated on Him and Him alone. Jesus Himself instructs us in the book of Matthew that "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37 NKJV). In the book of Daniel, it is very apparent that Daniel had this total love for the Lord, so much that no earthly King or group of ferocious lions could deter his faithfulness to Him.

Lastly, we need to live it out ourselves. Like I have said before, our children look closely at our lives and how we live them. They see what others can't because they are always with us. We can read Bible verses to them on pleasing God and we can talk to them about it endlessly; but if we ourselves give in to peer pressure and try to please the world rather than God, what good will all our words be? We need to show them how to be a Daniel, by being a Daniel.

As our children grow older, they will become more independent and have to make more decisions on their own. We will not always be there by their side to instruct them on how to make the right decisions. They will no doubt be surrounded by friends, acquaintances, and/or classmates that will pressure them into doing something against God's will. Do you know without a doubt that they would be like Daniel and serve God regardless of what any man says?

Ladies, let's set our hearts on raising a Daniel; that is, let us raise children who will sincerely love the Lord with ALL of their heart, soul, and mind AND seek to please God above man--at any cost.