Daniel’s challenge: a den of lions,
the pride of power,
the untamed manes of animal prowess.
Today I seem to face them, too:
Injustice, illness, anger, sorrow—
each one lurking near;
each one a fatal error.
How can I not feel so helpless and small
against these looming terrors?
And yet, I come protected;
I already know
that even here, God is the authority,
outlawing animality.
Whatever comes to threaten me,
I will not accept what cannot be.
As I bow in humility, knowing God’s purity,
Truth quietly commands
the growling voices of evil
to be silent;
Soul gently reprimands
the belief of malicious intent.
Right here, in this formidable place,
I see no angry face;
no evil to contemplate;
no guilt, no room for hate.
Divine Love is in charge;
hatred is arrested.
It was not animal strength,
but Daniel’s innocency, that was tested,
while the lions were corrected.
So here, like Daniel,
without pistol or sword, or even a word,
as God’s own child I stand:
Untouched, unhurt, uncorrupted, guileless—
the armory of innocence
at hand.
—Katie Grigg-Miller
