No Way Out

 "Hearing this the king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament." Daniel 6:1-28

After trying one more time to reach some sort of understanding and compromise, we both walked away as frustrated as ever. Stubbornly, we had given only lip service to a genuine surrender to and pursuit of God on this matter. The weight of this challenge strained our marriage and walls of bitterness began to build between us. We could see it clearly, but we were in the weeds too deep to navigate our way out. Graciously, with all other options exhausted, God led us to a mutually respected couple for counsel who helped us move forward through the maze of crazy.  

King Darius found himself in just such a place. Who would have thought, the great king of the Medo Persian empire found himself cornered by his own law. Not his position, nor his power, nor his strategic intelligence could do anything about what he had been baited into by Daniel's enemies. He had no choice but to feed his most trusted and competent advisor, Daniel, to the lions. All night, he tossed and turned. He fasted from food and fun. At the first sign of light, he ran to the lions' den. There, to his utter amazement and joy, he discovered the one true and living God had protected Daniel. He is the only one who can make a way when there is no way.

Paul wrote of a time where he was convinced death was imminent for him too. He said he was brought to such a state of helplessness so that he would be taught to fully rely on God. We may not be on death row today, but we are or soon will be stuck in a place of no way out - a loveless marriage, a dead-end job, a broken relationship with a family member or friend, financial collapse, loss of health or maybe all of them at once! There, our options are few. We've exhausted ourselves to despair. The tunnel has collapsed and there is no longer any light. It's here, at the end of ourselves, where we get to see our Jesus, once again, make a way where there is no way.

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