- Write a Better Story
- Where is Your Story Leading You?
- Learning from the Book of Judges: How to turn your story around
- Is the Author of Your Story You? Or God?
When I was a teenager, I saw the movie The Hiding Place, based on the book by Corrie ten Boom. It’s the story of how one man, Caspar ten Boom, held to his convictions despite the consequences. In the Netherlands in 1942, Caspar hid a Jewish woman from the German authorities. She had simply shown up and asked for help. Over the next two years, the Ten Boom family saved nearly 800 Jews by hiding them in their house.
In 1944, the Gestapo arrested most of the Ten Boom family. Caspar died about ten days after he entered prison, and his daughters Betsie and Corrie were placed in a concentration camp. Betsie died in the camp later that year, and Corrie survived to tell her story to the world. Caspar ten Boom made the seemingly small decision to help a single individual, and that one decision changed the story of the Ten Boom family and hundreds of Jewish families.
The story of the hiding place reminds us that we write our stories with the decisions we make, and the stories we wrote yesterday determined where we are today. That means the stories we write today will determine where we are tomorrow.
Daniel has a similar story of making a decision despite the consequences. As a young man, he was taken from Judah to Babylon (Daniel 1:1-7). Some 60 years later, the Persians and King Darius were in charge, and Darius chose 120 men to help him rule the kingdom, plus three more men to lead the 120. Daniel was one of the three and was about to be appointed in charge of the other two.
Some of the other guys were jealous of this Jew and wanted to get rid of him. The problem was that they couldn’t find anything wrong with Daniel to use against him — except his religion.
Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, “We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God.” (Daniel 6:4-5)
His enemies knew all about Daniel’s faith and habits because he was open and honest about them. Daniel was committed to God and didn’t hide his religious convictions from anyone.
Side note: whenever you start a new job, go to a new school, or move to a new place, it’s a good idea to mention early on that you’re a Christian. You don’t have to show up wearing a John 3:16 sign, but subtly let folks know you’re a believer. Don’t be ashamed of your faith. It will go well for you down the road.
In Daniel’s case, it didn’t go well for him, at least at first.
His enemies somehow convinced the king to write a decree that no one would be allowed to pray to anyone except the king for the next thirty days. Anyone caught breaking this rule would be thrown into a den of hungry lions.
Years earlier, Daniel decided to pause three times a day and pray to God. We sometimes struggle to do this even once a day.
With this habit, Daniel was writing his story. It’s part of what made him the man of integrity he was. This little decision helped turn him into a Jewish captive who found favor with a Persian king.
Here’s how Daniel responded to the decree:
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. (Daniel 6:10)
Daniel was a man of courage, conviction, and faith. His commitment to God was such that, just like Caspar ten Boom, he would not compromise even in the face of death. He prayed three times a day, “as he had done previously” (v. 13). He didn’t change his behavior, and he didn’t try to hide it.
Daniel is a reminder to us of the importance of prayer. Regular time with God in prayer and his Word will help us become people of courage, conviction, and faith. How would the simple change of spending time with God every day influence how your story ends?
Daniel’s enemies knew he would remain faithful to God. I pray that each of us would be known to the world as people who will be faithful to God no matter what.
Sure enough, Daniel’s enemies caught him praying, and they went straight to King Darius. The king loved Daniel, but he had no choice. He realized he’d been fooled by these men, but he had to do something he hated — he threw Daniel into the lion’s den.
Early the next morning, Darius ran to the den, hoping beyond hope that somehow Daniel’s God had saved him. The king cried out, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” (v. 20). The king didn’t expect an answer, so what happened next must have given him a shock.
Daniel, alive and well, answered, “O king, live forever! My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm” (v. 21-22).
Daniel was alive! The king celebrated as only kings can do. He got Daniel out of the den and put his enemies in, along with their wives and children. Their story didn’t end well.
It’s important to remember that when we stand up for God, he won’t always shut the mouths of the lions. That’s his call to make, and he does all that he does out of love for us. We also won’t always see our enemies fall, but we can know that in the next life, unless they turn to Christ, they will receive justice.
Long before this story, Daniel had decided to pray three times a day. That small decision wound up making an impact on one of the most powerful men on the planet. From there, it reached across the empire (see vv 25-27).
One small decision can make a big difference in the direction of your life. The story you write today will determine where you are tomorrow.
Is the story you’re writing going to take you where you want to go? If not, what change do you need to make so that it will?