Ever wonder how far you’d go to honour God—even if it meant staring down your worst nightmare? In Daniel 6, a royal decree makes prayer illegal, yet Daniel refuses to hide his devotion. His reward? A night locked in a pit with hungry lions. But instead of becoming dinner, Daniel’s unyielding faith paves the way for a miraculous rescue that shocks the entire kingdom. This isn’t just a thrilling Bible story; it’s a bold challenge to anyone whose faith feels under pressure. How do we cultivate the courage to follow God when our culture—or our own fears—tell us to stop? Can our prayers really move mountains (or, in Daniel’s case, shut lions’ mouths)? Discover how steadfast loyalty to God can transform impossible situations and propel you into a deeper, unshakeable faith. You might just find that the greatest miracles happen when we’re brave enough to stand for what we believe—no matter the cost.

The merciful and gracious God is a just God of judgement who’s ultimate purpose is redemption

Daniel 5:2 – While Belshazzar was drinking the wine, he gave orders to bring in the gold and silver cups that his predecessor, Nebuchadnezzar, had taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. He wanted to drink from them with his nobles, his wives, and his concubines. 

Daniel 5:4 – While they drank from them they praised their idols made of gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

1 Corinthians 11:27-30 – So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.

Hebrews 10:29 – Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 

Examples:

• Nadab & Abihu – Lev 10:1-2
• Uzzah – 2 Sam 6:6-7
• Uzziah – 2 Chr 26:19

Daniel 5:5-6 – Suddenly, they saw the fingers of a human hand writing on the plaster wall of the king’s palace, near the lampstand. The king himself saw the hand as it wrote, and his face turned pale with fright. His knees knocked together in fear and his legs gave way beneath him.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

Hebrews 4:12 – For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.

James 1:22-25 – But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

Daniel 5:8 – But when all the king’s wise men had come in, none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant.

Daniel 5:11 – There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, this man was found to have insight, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods.

Daniel 5:12 – This man Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has exceptional ability and is filled with divine knowledge and understanding. He can interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve difficult problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what the writing means.

1 Peter 2:9 – But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

Daniel 5:25-28 – “This is the message that was written: Mene, mene, tekel, and Parsin. This is what these words mean: Mene means ‘numbered’—God has numbered the days of your reign and has brought it to an end. Tekel means ‘weighed’—you have been weighed on the balances and have not measured up. Parsin means ‘divided’—your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

Ecclesiastes 12:14 – God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

Romans 2:5-6 – But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done. 

Romans 5:8 – But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.

2 Corinthians 5:10 – For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Daniel 5:22 – You are his successor, O Belshazzar, and you knew all this, yet you have not humbled yourself.

Daniel 5:30 – That very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king, was killed.

Genesis 3:15 – And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

Isaiah 53:5-6 – But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

2 Corinthians 5:21 –  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.