TODAY IN THE WORD
At 88 years old, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes had distinguished himself as a Supreme Court justice who could not be swayed by party lines, political pressure, or even his fellow justices. A reporter conducting man-on-the-street interviews about the venerable Holmes, nicknamed “The Great Dissenter,” got an interesting response from a construction worker. He said, “Oh, sure! He's the young judge on the Supreme Court that's always disagreeing with the old guys.”

The early chapters of Daniel contain so many great stories of courage and drama that it's easy to lose sight of how much time has passed since Daniel was first abducted by Babylonian forces. As we begin the beloved story of Daniel in the lions' den, we need to remember that he wasn't a scrapping young man from Israel anymore. By the time Darius took over, Daniel was probably in his eighties. As wise as Daniel was as a teenager, how astute must he have been at eighty!

Clearly, Darius caught on to Daniel's value, appointing him as one of three rulers over all his other administrators and even eyeing him for a position over the entire kingdom (v. 3). Daniel wasn't just a great man of faith; he was an all-around great man. He had always stood out from the other wise men in the kingdom, and Darius noticed. As he had done so many times before, Daniel proved his worth to his king and was rewarded for it. With reward, though, came the downside: envy.

It's one thing to impress the king with your abilities, but it's an even bigger feat to show absolutely no weaknesses to your enemies. That's what Daniel was able to do, frustrating his jealous colleagues to no end. The king appreciated Daniel's flawless performance, but the petty administrators couldn't hide their true selfish colors. They found Daniel to be upstanding, trustworthy, and competent, and decided that was a bad thing. So the plotting began. Some people can't appreciate good qualities in others, especially if power is at stake.

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TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Is there any question that God can do a better job leading than we can? But so often we fight for control of our own lives, searching for excuses about why we can't follow God's plan. Commit in your heart today to give God authority over your whole life. Desires in your sinful nature will try desperately to gain control, but ask God to suppress and conquer them. He is a better ruler than we could ever hope to be!

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