Do you find yourself reacting or responding when there is a crisis, and when it’s all over, do you remember to stop and thank God before doing anything else? A couple of questions that come out of chapter two of the book of Daniel.
Nebuchadnezzar had been having some crazy dreams. Not from eating too much sugar after 9pm or from watching late movies. No, these were dreams from God who wanted his attention. Old Neb was so concerned that he couldn’t sleep.
The king needed answers so he called all his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers hoping that they could do their thing and tell him the meaning of his dream. All of a sudden we see Nebuchadnezzar’s mood dramatically change and instead of sharing the dream with his people so they could interpret its meaning he demands that they tell him both what his dream is and its meaning.
Maybe Nebuchadnezzar is so stressed from what’s been keeping him awake, that he is looking for someone to trust?
In verses 7 – 11 we see the dialogue continue. It would appear that The king has lost his marbles with his request, or maybe he is a bit over it and no longer has any faith in his people. He is so angry that he orders the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. This included Daniel and his friends who were now serving Nebuchadnezzar. Bonkers!
Daniels Confidence in God
We are told that when the commander of the Kinds guard went to get Daniel and his mates, that Daniel spoke with him with wisdom and tact. Daniel asked “why the king had issued such a harsh decree” verse 15 says. I am impressed by his approach and pretty sure all Christians could learn from his level headedness. Daniel has just found out that he is going to be put to death and as we can see he chooses a calm approach rather than allowing anxiety to rule over him.
Having an understanding of Gods sovereignty in all circumstances meant that Daniel would trust no matter what was happening.
So what happens next is pretty awesome. Not only does Daniel not lose his cool, he then goes to his mates and asks them to join him in Prayer. Here’s a guy and his friends who are slaves in a foreign land, who are choosing to trust in the God of their people even though they are far from home. I would love to think that I would have done the exact same thing, but if I’m honest, I reckon I would have been thinking of an escape plan instead of praying for help. What about you?
God then reveals the dream and its meaning to Daniel and in the next 4 verses we see Daniel praising God and being thankful. It kind of reminds me of the story of the healing of the 10 lepers where only one returned to thank Jesus before doing anything else. It is then we read about Daniels confidence before Nebuchadnezzar and how bold he was to point to God and not himself.
Our confidence in God
So, what can we learn from this chapter of the book of Daniel? It’s important to point out here that you can memorize all the scripture you want and come across as a hard-core theologian, but if you don’t take the time to know God and choose to know him from a distance instead, when it comes to facing challenges in our lives, you will forever feel disconnected from the peace of God.
- Knowing God and understanding who he is when things are going good gives you the strength to trust him when things are not.
- That confidence in God will lead you to use wisdom in the face of trouble, instead of reacting like many do. Asking questions like Daniel did will allow us to be more tactical in our approach.
- Prayer is imperative for Christians, especially when it comes to facing challenges big or small, and inviting others to pray with us is just as important.
- Stop and thank God for showing you what you needed or delivering you from a problem. I reckon doing this sooner rather than later helps you see how faithful God is.
In the end it’s not so much about how strong we stood in the face of adversity, but more about confidence in our God who can be trusted. And like Daniel who stood before king Nebuchadnezzar pointing him to who really was in charge, we can also stand with boldness pointing to God who reveals mysteries.
Thanks for reading and as always, if you found anything helpful from this post or have your own insights, please leave a comment.
great post
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G’day Dave, thanks for dropping by. I hope life is treating you well dude.
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Excellent job, Dave. There is much to learn from the Book of Daniel, especially from Daniel himself, and you do a =very good job extracting some of the lessons. One other thing to consider regarding Daniel’s wonderful character: At the time of the event you write about, Daniel was only about 15 years old! Oh for those of us who are older (in my case 4 times older!!) to have such tact.
Great post, mate!
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15yrs old??? That has really challenged me!
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As always its great to have you drop by mate and thanks for your comment. I agree, there is so much in Daniel its crazy. End of last year I sat and listened to the whole thing in one sitting and now my church is doing a series on it so I am looking forward to learning and reading more. Yeah I did read that he was pretty young, thanks for the reminder. Makes you think about the excuses we use right?
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good post
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Thanks for dropping by Tiffany. Do you have a blog?
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Yes, my blog is: https://beutiflee.wordpress.com/
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This is very good Evad! And I never knew Daniel was only 15yrs old at the time. Thanks Dettinger for that. The story of Daniel and the other 3 Hebrew guys is always very challenging for me. They had so much confidence in God because they knew Him. Our level of trust and confidence in God is based on our level of knowledge of Him. I pray we know Him more.
I also love when you said “but if you don’t take the time to know God and choose to know him from a distance instead, when it comes to facing challenges in our lives, you will forever feel disconnected from the peace of God.” Very true.
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G’day Efi and thanks for dropping by, always appreciate your engagement. Amen to your prayer, and when you think about it we kinda have no excuses on this side of the cross right?
Thanks again.
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Excellent insights, Dave, and you make some truly profound applications here! Thank you for this great post!
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Hey there Lynn hope your staying out of trouble! Thanks for taking the time to drop by and no worries. Can I ask what jumped out at you?
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You made a number of good points and I enjoyed your post. What really struck me about Daniel was his intimacy with God. He had a close relationship with God and his God fearing friends. He already knew that God could be trusted, even while in captivity. He had been taken from his homeland, most likely made a eunuch, had been given a new Babylonian name and identity. This, however, did not stop him from praying and worshiping God. Daniel and his friends’ close relationship with God had already seen them through much trauma and it allowed them to profoundly influence the Babylonian culture. The friends supported him in prayer. This inspires me to pursue God for a deeper more intimate relationship with him.
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My favorite quote out of all of this
“You can memorize all the scripture you want and come across as a hard-core theologian, but if you don’t take the time to know God and choose to know him from a distance instead, when it comes to facing challenges in our lives, you will forever feel disconnected from the peace of God.”
Amen, amen!!!! I’m going to add this post to the Community Post for March, it will appear at the end of the month 🙂
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Love, love, love this post Dave! ❤️ I was going to quote what you said as being my favourite but T.R. beat me to it haha! 😂
Personal relationship with God is the absolute ultimate when it comes to receiving perfect peace in the storm. It beats all head knowledge every single time. 👍
Blessings, Hayley 😊
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Top of the morning to you Haley( 9pm here in Melbourne). Thanks for dropping by and for your comment. Its true, but people still think they can wing it!
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Reblogged this on Removing The Veil and commented:
Loving this! Great insight my friend. Keep it up!
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I love what you said about that we need to learn about God and develop a relationship with Him when things are good because it helps us when they are not.
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G’day and thanks for dropping by and for your comment.
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“Having an understanding of Gods sovereignty in all circumstances meant that Daniel would trust no matter what was happening.” 👈🏽This part right here was an eye opener for me. It definitely helped me take a look at things in a different light. I’ve recently read Daniel’s story and at the time did not take away the same message as you posed. However, I’m blessed and grateful at your approach to it. Thanks for sharing. God bless you.
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So true! Daniel is such a great example of how to trust in God in good times and in bad and to always give him glory and thanks. Great post.
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I am currently reading “Against the Flow: The Inspiration of Daniel in an Age of Relativism” by John Lennox. It dovetails nicely w/ your message.
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John Lennox is awesome. Thanks for dropping by Anna!
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Great message
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You have a way of capturing things: “In the end it’s not so much about how strong we stood in the face of adversity, but more about confidence in our God who can be trusted.” When we make it about ourselves, we lose sight of God.
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Thank you for this insightful post. We all need the wisdom of God to face the difficulties of our lives.
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