For Men | Virtue Four: Remain | Daniel 6:10 | The Virtues of Daniel

Everybody loves the highlight reel. The breakthrough. The miracle. The comeback.

But God does some of His greatest work in the ordinary faithfulness that nobody applauds.

By the time we reach Daniel 6, Daniel is no longer a teenager refusing the king's food. He's an old man who's spent nearly seventy years living in Babylon without allowing Babylon to live in him. Kings have changed. Empires have changed. Cultures have changed. But Daniel hasn't. Daniel 6:10 gives us the secret to his life in one simple phrase: "...just as he had done previously." His courage in the lion's den wasn't created overnight—it was cultivated through decades of quiet obedience, daily prayer, and unwavering devotion. 

In this episode, we discover what it takes to remain faithful for a lifetime.

• Remain in the Secret Place — Public courage is always preceded by private consistency. The lion's den simply revealed what the prayer room had been producing for years. 
• Remain When No One Is Watching — God forms character long before He entrusts influence. The habits nobody sees often determine the impact everyone will. 
• Remain Until the End — Starting strong is common. Finishing faithful is rare. The Christian life is a marathon of daily obedience, not a sprint of emotional moments. 

Daniel ultimately points us to Jesus. Jesus remained faithful when obedience led to suffering. He remained faithful when everyone else fled. He remained faithful all the way to the cross. Because Christ remained faithful for us, we now have His Spirit empowering us to remain faithful to Him.

How Men Remain

•  Build rhythms, not moods. 
•  Guard your secret place. 
•  Stay planted in biblical community. 
•  Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus. 

Ask Yourself

•  What habits are shaping the man I'm becoming? 
•  Am I preparing for tomorrow's battles through today's disciplines? 
•  Where have I been relying on inspiration instead of consistency? 

The lion's den didn't make Daniel.

The prayer room did.

Book Derek Griffon to Speak at your next event 

https://www.derekgriffon.com/invite

Transcript

Welcome \\ Rebel for Men Mission

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Welcome to the Daily Rebel, Saturday bonus edition from men who are done playing games with their faith and ready to live it for real. No excuses, no hiding, no fluff. Just truth that hits your life where it actually counts. Because your faith isn't proven by what you say. It's proven by how you show up and live. So step up, man. Let's lock in and let's get to work. Yo, what's going on, man? Here we go. We're on the final week of the virtues of Daniel, and we're wrapping up the entire series, the entire summer on the virtues of Daniel and David. And today's final virtue, we need to understand that Daniel did well is

Remain: Stay Faithful Until The End

SPEAKER_00 0:57

he remained. He stayed faithful until the end. And Daniel chapter 6, verse 10. This is right after he finds out that there was an etiquette or decree signed that's saying that you cannot pray to your God if it's not the king was signed. Daniel hears this decree. You know, he's around 80 years old now, and he he goes back in chapter 6, verse 10, it says this. He got

Daniel 6:10

SPEAKER_00 1:20

down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks to his God. Now, watch, peep this in the text, just as he had done previously. Listen, y'all, every everybody loves a comeback story. I've I've talked about this recently on the on the Daily Rebel episodes, is everybody loves a comeback story, everybody loves a breakthrough, everybody loves the miracle. Very few people actually celebrate consistency.

God Values Consistency

SPEAKER_00 1:41

That's why they call them the one percenters. We celebrate what's seen, which is the championships and the trophies, but nobody celebrates Tuesday morning's practice. We celebrate harvest. Nobody celebrates years of planting. We celebrate giant moments. God celebrates faithful men. Because here's the truth most men don't ruin their lives overnight. They don't build and they don't build godly lives overnight either. Listen, both happen one decision at a time. And God celebrates the faithful and consistency of men. Listen, you don't stumble into godliness. You build it one day at a time. So Daniel is no longer 16 years old. He's probably in his 80s, as I said. Think about that. He out he's outlived kings. Empires has has ri have risen, empires have fallen, Babylon has fallen, Persia has taken over, and nearly 70 years of living in a pagan culture, 70 years of temptation, 70 years of pressure, 70 years of compromise all around him. And after all those years, Daniel is still standing.

The Secret Behind Daniel's Faithfulness

SPEAKER_00 2:43

That might be the greatest miracle in the entire book. You see, the lion's den wasn't built in a day, neither was Daniel. The greatest miracle in Daniel's life wasn't surviving one night with lions, it was surviving decades in Babylon without becoming Babylon. Those two principles are huge because we think that the Lion's Den was the most epic encounter of Daniel's life, and he would look back and say that was but a mark in the 70 years that he was in exile. See, Daniel's chapter 6, verse 10, again, it says something remarkable as he prayed after they said he prayed three times. He opens the window to Jerusalem, he gets on his knees, and it says, just as he had done previously. Don't rush past that. That one phrase explains the entire chapter. Daniel didn't suddenly become a man of prayer. He already was. He didn't become faithful because of the crisis. The crisis revealed the faithfulness he'd been building for decades.

The Lion Den Exposed What The Prayer Room Produced

SPEAKER_00 3:35

The lion's den exposed what the prayer room had produced. I'm gonna say it again. Remember this. The lion's den exposed what the prayer room had produced. You see, public courage is built in private consistency. You see, our culture loves instant results. I mean, we are a microwaveable, let's get it done, air fryer mentality culture. We want instant success. We want followers immediately. We want influence all the time and instant transformation. Uh if there was a pill that makes you uh um and just 100%, you know, 1% body fat, a pill that makes you ripped immediately, we would take it. Everybody wants a platform, but here's the deal nobody wants to process. Everybody wants Daniel-like influence. Very few people want Daniel's disciplines. Everybody wants to stand before lions. And how courageous and epic of a story would that be? But very few people want to kneel before God. We want microwave Christianity. But listen, God grows oak trees. The life everyone applauds is usually built by habits no one saw. So I'm gonna give y'all three truths,

Point 1: Remain In The Secret Place

SPEAKER_00 4:40

man. Number one, remain in the secret place. Daniel's public faithfulness was rooted in private fellowship. See, three times a day, again, not when it was convenient, not when life slowed down. Every single day, can I lovingly challenge you? Some of us have become more faithful to checking our notifications than meeting with God. Uh we don't miss our favorite podcast, we don't miss the gym, we don't miss work. Some of you guys know more about your fantasy football teams than you know um your wife's heart. But somehow, time with God always is negotiable. And Daniel teaches us something important, man. If it's important, you schedule it. Don't merely intend to meet with God. You have to plan to remain in the secret place. Find a place and a time. What's scheduled gets protected. And my question to you is are you scheduling the secret place to meet with your savior? Number two,

Point 2: Remain When No One Is Watching

SPEAKER_00 5:32

remain when no one is watching. Remain when no one is watching. See, character isn't built on stages, it's built

Character Is Built In Private

SPEAKER_00 5:39

in secret. Anybody can look spiritual for an hour, y'all. Anybody can show up and pat their heart and raise their hands and experience goosebumps and display that they know the Lord. But listen, faithful men learn to walk with God when no one applauds. Your wife may not see it, your kids may not see it, your pastor may not see it all the time. But listen, ultimately, God does. So listen, who you are in private is who you really are. So listen, remain when no one is watching. Remain in the secret place. You don't have to post a Bible, and I've done this before. You don't have to post a Bible in your coffee to prove that you're with the Lord. Sometimes it's best done when it's just you and him and nobody needs to know. So listen, who you are in private is who you really are. Remain even when no one is watching. Are you pursuing Jesus even if there's no applause? Are you pursuing Jesus even if nobody knows about it? Which leads me to number three.

Point 3: Remain Until The End

SPEAKER_00 6:31

You need to remain until the end. Daniel didn't burn bright for a season. He burned faithfully for a lifetime. He bowed to King Jesus to the Lord for a lifetime. That's rare. We've all seen it, man. Men who start strong, but they don't finish well. Daniel reminds us, finishing matters. The Christian life will never be a sprint. It's faithful endurance. And it doesn't mean there's not going to be sprints in the midst of the faithful endurance, but the entirety of the Christian life is not run as fast as you can. It's endurance. So don't just start strong. You need to learn how to finish faithful. And Daniel did this. Daniel did this. Men, listen, we need to be careful. Culture doesn't usually destroy faith overnight, it erodes it. One misprayer, one mis uh one neglected Bible, one compromised conviction, one isolated season, one distracted heart, then another,

Faithfulness Is Lost the Same Way It's Built - One Day at a Time

SPEAKER_00 7:26

then another. See, faithfulness is lost the same way it's built. One day at a time. Don't ever let yesterday's victory become today's excuse to coast. We we need uh Babe Ruth, Hall of Fame baseball player, most of you know, said, I mean, you can't win today's games with yesterday's home runs. You gotta understand that if you're gonna remain in the secret place, if you're gonna remain with the Lord even when no one sees you, if you're gonna remain until

The Most Spiritual Thing You Can Do

SPEAKER_00 7:51

the end, then listen, maybe the the most spiritual thing you can do is to stop making excuses and to get with the Lord. So listen, how

How Men Remain Faithful For Life

SPEAKER_00 8:01

do we remain? Let me give you four tips. Here's how we remain. How do we not drift? Well, number one, build rhythms, not moods. Like, don't wait until you feel spiritual. Some guys and girls, but some guys are like, man, I don't feel it today, or I don't feel like going today. I don't feel like open my Bible. Listen to me, if you're just if you're gonna do it when you feel like it, it's only gonna happen when you're in a church service or smoke machines and the the chord hits right and uh some dude or some girl hits some high-pitched note, and you all of a sudden you're like, wow, I think that's the spirit, when it absolutely could have just been the Chinese food you ate the night before. It could just be that the music hit right. And I'm not saying the Holy Spirit can't use music, but you need to build rhythms, not moods. If you are faithful in the prayer room, if you're faithful to read God's word, then just because a preacher or a song or a podcaster or an influencer says something does not mean you're gonna be automatically swayed by it. You will have already rooted yourself in the scriptures. Build the rhythms it takes to know the God of the gospel. Number two, guard your secret place. Your public ministry or whatever you do will never outrun your private intimacy. Daniel showed us that he guarded the secret place. Even when he was threatened with the lions, then he opened the windows to Jerusalem and he prayed three times a day. No kind of persecution could stop his plan of action to pray before the Lord. You need to guard the secret place. Find a spot in your house. Maybe it is the deer stand, maybe it is going outside. If you're a man and wants to be in the wilderness and you don't want to just be in air conditioned, find that secret place and guard it. Number three, stay planted in biblical community. Men, don't ever say you don't need the church. Yes, you do. You need the church, you need community because lone wolves rarely finish well. If you are a man and you have no community, if you're not being fed and sharpened and accountability from other guys, you will suffer from distraction and then eventually be uh have delusion from the culture. And eventually that's how Satan defeats you. Get around biblical community, accountability, because iron sharpens iron. Number four, keep your eyes on Jesus. You don't remain by trying harder, you remain by abiding deeper. Daniel points us to Jesus ultimately. Jesus

Jesus Remained Faithful For Us

SPEAKER_00 10:22

remained faithful to the Father, to the cross, to the very end. When everyone else fled, Jesus remained. When obedience costs him everything, Jesus remained. When the nails were driven through his hands, he remained. Because Jesus remained faithful, you don't have to remain in your own strength. The same spirit that sustained Daniel now lives inside of every believer. You don't endure to earn God's love, you endure because you've already received it. Jesus remained faithful to the cross so you could remain faithful to the call. So what habits are shaping your future? What disciplines are preparing you for the next lion's den? Don't wait until the crisis to become the man of God that he's calling you to be. Become him today. One prayer, one chapter, one act of obedience, one faithful day at a time. The Lion's Den did not make Daniel, the prayer room did. The world remembers men who have big moments, and God uses men who remain faithful

Babylon Never Changed Daniel

SPEAKER_00 11:12

in the small ones. So listen, Babylon, it changed kings, Babylon changed cultures, Babylon changed empires, but Babylon never changed Daniel. So be a David, be a Daniel. Love you men. See you next week.

Outro \\ Go Live It!

SPEAKER_00 11:32

That's your daily rebel Saturday edition for the men. Now go live it, lead yourself well. Don't keep it to yourself. Because Redeem Rebels, we don't just profess faith, we prove it. If you want to equip other men and grow their faith, share this with them, leave a five-star review, and we'll see you next time on the Saturday bonus edition of the