Danger! Danger!

Over the past few weeks my thoughts keep going back to the story of Daniel in the Old Testament.  Daniel had an interesting career in the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, from interpreting an impossible dream and being thrown into the lion’s den.  It’s the dream that I want to touch upon today.

The King was troubled about his dream.  He called upon all the wise counsellors in his court to give them the task of interpreting his dream.  The difficulty lie in the fact that he could not actually remember the dream.  What an impossible job to give someone!  None of his wise men could interpret the dream that the king could not remember.  So enraged was the king that he ordered all the wise men of his court to be killed.  This included Daniel, but Daniel asked his guard to give him some time, assuring the guard that he would interpret the king’s dream.  The guard respected Daniel and granted his request for a time.

What an amazing promise Daniel gave the guard; but of course, Daniel knew upon whom he was trusting.  In the second chapter of Daniel we see what action Daniel took in order to interpret the king’s dream.  It was vital that he get this right.  His very life depended on it.  What plan did he utilize?  First, we see in verses 17-18 that he told his friends and asked then to seek God on his behalf.  If God did not tell him the dream, Daniel and his friends would be executed with the others.

After praying, God told Daniel what the dream was and He told him what the dream meant.  Imagine you are Daniel.  What would you do?  I thought to myself that if I had been given the dream, I would be so relieved (because my life would be saved) that I would rush to tell the king.  Would you have rushed in also?  After all, what a perilous situation.  Time was of the essence.  Executions had already taken place.  Soon the axeman would be at Daniel’s door.  He needed to rush in and tell the king!  What did he do instead?

We see in verse 19 that when God revealed the dream to Daniel, he took time to thank God.  He spent time in praising Him for what He had just done.  Imagine that!  In the midst of such danger, his life being threatened, he took time to worship and thank the Lord.  What he said to the Lord is recorded in the verses that follow:

“Praise the name of God forever and ever, for He has all wisdom and power.  He controls the course of world events; He removes kings and sets up other kings.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.  He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though He is surrounded in light.  I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for You have given me wisdom and strength.  You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”

How timely these words are for today.

Let us ask the Lord to help us remember, no matter how scary our situations, to take time to pray, invite others to pray with us, and when His answer comes, to praise and thank Him for it.  Our spiritual lives depend on it.