Its All In The Eyes

I'm not much of a sports fanatic. Although the Olympics have caused me to get home late at night due to our 10pm newscast being pushed back for Olympic coverage, I have found myself following some of the competitions. I watched Saturday night as Michael Phelps went for his 8th gold medal. I found myself cheering on the television set, "Go, go, go, you've almost got it, keep going, he's getting closer to you!" And at the end of the relay, the USA mens swim team won gold!

When you see the athletes compete, you barely notice their faces because it all goes so fast and the camera shots are always switching angles. But when I've seen the still photographs that are released to the public after the race is completed, I notice one thing on each competitor's face: their eyes are fixed, focused, determined.

Daniel was determined in the Bible. You remember the story of Daniel in the den of lions. The king threw him in the den because the king didn't like the interpretations Daniel was giving. So the king told him in Daniel 6:16, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!" The Bible goes on to give the account. The king went to bed that night without eating and he tossed and turned. When he went to see if Daniel had been devoured by the lions the next morning, he saw Daniel still alive. Daniel told him in verse 22: "My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me." The king gave the order to have Daniel taken out of the den. When Daniel was taken out of the den, there wasn't a scratch on him, "because he had trusted in God" (verse 23).

If Daniel had at any point taken his eyes off God, the lions would have had him for an appetizer, full course and dessert. But he didn't. He had his eyes fixated and focused on God. If we take our eyes off the Father when troubles arise, then we become mince meat for Satan. When we keep our eyes solely on God and His promises, we triumph without a scratch!