When God's calling and God's will

conflict with human will and commands ...

The people who sought to accuse Daniel went in groups to Daniel's house

and saw him praying three times a day, as he had always done,

kneeling down and praying to God.

They went to King Darius and said, 'Daniel, who is from Judah

and has been exiled, disregards your decree, O king,

and still prays three times a day.'

Eventually, the people who sought to accuse Daniel found no fault in him

because 'Daniel was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent.'

They realized that 'if it were not for matters related to his religion,

they would not find any grounds to accuse him.'

Therefore, they persuaded King Darius to issue a decree

that 'for the next 30 days, anyone who prays to any god or human being

other than the king will be thrown into the lion's den'

(Daniel 6:10-13).

This was done to trap Daniel into breaking the law.

As I reflect on this passage, I consider from Daniel's perspective

that when God's law—'to kneel and pray to God three times a day,

as he had always done before' (v. 10)—conflicted with King Darius' decree—

'that for the next 30 days, anyone who prays to any god or human

other than the king will be thrown into the lion's den' (v. 7)—

Daniel chose to obey God's law, even though it meant breaking the king's decree.

This reminds me of something I told my dear daughter Yeri

after meeting with the senior pastor of our church last evening:

'When God's calling and God's will conflict with human will and commands,

we must obey God's calling and God's will.