What does it mean to live and practice our faith in a time when the culture does not support it? To be Christian today is to be counter-cultural. The world’s attitude towards those who want to devote themselves to following God is indifference. The encouragement is to follow God as long as it does not interfere or inconvenience one’s lifestyle or challenge popular cultural norms. Our current culture often directly and indirectly dares us to give up on our faithfulness to God.

This is the setting for the Book of Daniel. The well-known stories of Daniel and his friends tell an insightful tale of how to live in exile and remain faithful to God. Such living is unpredictable, dangerous and full of surprises. God’s power can and will show up in a mighty way if, like Daniel, we are instead daring to hope.