The lions may not leave, but neither will he

Daniel 6:22

“My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.”

When Daniel was cast into the lions’ den, there is no record of him pleading with God to make the lions vanish or the den disappear. He didn’t cry out for the beasts to be removed or for the walls to crumble. Instead, Daniel’s faith rested in the unshakable truth of God’s sovereignty. He trusted, not in the absence of danger, but in the presence of the Almighty.

This was the posture of a man who understood that God’s deliverance does not always come by removing the trial, but by reigning over it. The lions remained, their growls still echoed in the darkness, and yet their mouths were shut—not by Daniel’s might, but by the hand of God.

Daniel’s peace wasn’t tethered to changed circumstances but to an unchanging God. He didn’t need the lions to disappear because he trusted that his God would stand between him and their teeth. Faith that doesn’t demand the removal of the storm but finds rest in the One who commands it. Faith that says, “Even here, in the den, I will trust You.”

When the lions roar in our own lives—when trials loom large and escape seems impossible—we don’t have to fear when the lions don’t disappear. Instead, let us pray for the presence of God to sustain us, His power to protect us, and His peace to calm us. The lions may not leave, but neither will He. The same God who shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel is the God who stands with us today.

Our faith does not hinge on the absence of trials, but on the assurance of God’s presence. The lions stayed, but so did God—and He was enough. He is the lion of Judah, and he is greater.