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The context of today’s verse, Daniel 2:24, contains one of the most absurd accounts in all of Scripture.
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, had a series of troubling dreams. So he summoned his many “magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers” to make sense of his nightmares (Daniel 2:2). But the king didn’t just demand interpretation of his dreams. He demanded that his servants guess the content of those dreams as well. He said, “If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble” (Daniel 2:5).
Incredulous, the king’s staff replied, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans” (Daniel 2:10-11).
King Nebuchadnezzar did not like that answer, so he ordered the execution of all the wise men in Babylon, including Daniel and his friends.
But instead of resigning himself to death, Daniel “urged [his friends] to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon” (Daniel 2:18).
Stop for a second and appreciate how remarkable this account is. Even though the king’s request was certifiably crazy and impossible for the other wise men of Babylon, Daniel had faith that the God of the Bible could do impossible work through him.
And sure enough, that’s exactly what happened. God revealed the content and the interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar’s dreams to Daniel. That’s when Daniel uttered today’s verse, boldly claiming to have the answers nobody else could produce.
Centuries before the words were written, Daniel understood what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4: “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
Daniel was working “in the world” just as the other wise men of Babylon were. But Daniel worked distinctly. He wielded otherworldly weapons—in this case, intense prayer—and had faith that God could produce otherworldly results through his work.
Those same spiritual weapons are available to you and me today, believer. We don’t go to work with the same toolset as our non-Christian counterparts. We go to work with the Creator God dwelling in us. We go to work with His ‘“incomparably great power” (Ephesians 1:19). We go to work with and for the One “who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine'' (Ephesians 3:20).
Are you working as if you believe these things to be true? May we all be like Daniel—those with faith that God is able to do through our work what others believe to be impossible.
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Receive His Peace and Believe
The story of Hannah tells us that when she finished praying, the prophet Eli approached her accusing her of being drunk. Hannah's anguish was so strong that when people saw her weeping inconsolably, they had thought that.
In 1 Samuel 1:17-18, Hannah explains her situation to the prophet Eli, and he says to her, "Go in peace! May the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."
From that moment on, Hannah began to eat again and was no longer sad because those three words that Eli had spoken over her impacted her life: "Go in peace."
The Hebrew word translated as "peace" is Shalom, which means security, health, prosperity. Shalom means to be complete.
The peace Hannah received not only healed her physical body, but also restored her spirit and emotional state. Hannah experienced God's peace in a new and fresh way. She prayed and received peace.
Have faith that God's peace will sustain you in the midst of your trouble, in the midst of your waiting.
That night, when Hannah returned home, God remembered her. She was united with her husband and, after 9 months, she gave birth to a son. God answered her prayer! The story continues, and Hannah, as she had promised God, gave Him her son, the son He had given her.
But Hannah's faithfulness not only impacted her life, but a nation. She would never have thought that the son she prayed for would be a prophet of God, a judge and a leader of the nation of Israel; the spiritual guide and mentor to the first great kings of Israel.
Sometimes we don't understand why the answer doesn't come when we want it to, but in God's timing.
Even if you don't know why, I encourage you to keep planting yourself in God's house, to keep worshipping him, even when it is difficult to do so. Don't stop pouring out your heart in all sincerity, because today you may not understand, but in God's right time, your answer will come.
God has the best for your life! He knows what is best for you better than you do, He knows your future, He designed your purpose and He sees the bigger picture. God never stops working behind the scenes.
At the right time, you will see your miracle, don't lose hope!
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When There’s Life After “No”
If you are still breathing, then your story isn’t over. Your final no—“You have no days left here on earth”—has not been spoken. And today’s devotion is to assure you that there can be life after no. I say there can be, not there will be, because how you live your “after no”—whether you fully live your life after no—is up to you. There can be life after no, but you have to choose to live it.
There’s no rush. You may need to sit in your no for a time, grieving, remembering. It’s hard work, grief. It’s sleepless nights and anguished prayers. It’s red eyes and a tired heart. But it’s necessary.
But one day (how soon we cannot say), your grief won’t be over (is grief ever “over”?), but it will be. . .in a resting place. A place where you can tuck it gently into a box in a corner of your heart, and you won’t have to open the box every day. Some days you’ll pull it out, relive the memories, feel the pain spring up once more, but most days you’ll be able to leave it there while you go on living.
I can’t answer all the when questions—or even the how questions—but I can tell you this: if you are still alive, then God still has life in store for you. Relationships. Blessings. Even joy. Our God specializes in surprising turns and second acts. Consider what He did for some of the Bible characters we’ve met this week: Naaman eventually found healing—and faith in the true God. Naomi moved past bitterness and held an adopted grandson in her arms. Jesus conquered the grave.
Moses, who spent forty years wandering in the desert, once asked God, “Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen trouble” (Psalm 90:15). Moses knew that when God says no, there can be life, and even joy, on the other side of the heartache.
Finding your footing in that life takes faith, courage, and time. The point is not that you live happily ever after, fairy-tale style—but that you live. That you open your door, blink in bright sun, and take a few steps out into the world. Every day you walk a few steps farther. Who knows what God has in store for you down the road? Perhaps He will surprise you, even amaze you. Maybe God has said no to one thing. . .but He’s saying yes to something else. Maybe God has said no to one dream. . .but He’s sparking a new one in your heart. One of these days you may step outside and find yourself joyful again. Hopeful again. Dreaming again.
Yes, your life after no will be different from the life you had imagined, the one you had wanted, but it will still be a life worth living. And that’s no small thing.
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“During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven…”
Daniel 2:19
Who doesn’t like starting off with answered prayer? Can I get a big amen!?! Let’s just start shouting and praising God right now! He IS worthy of all of our praise! His name is above all names and every knee will bow before Him. EVERY KNEE!!!!
After a night of praying, pleading and begging God for mercy, our Heavenly Father answered their prayers by showing Daniel what King Nebuchadnezzar’s prophetic dream meant. This was huge! So much so that Daniel and his friends began praising God. Let’s breakdown what he said in his prayer of praise to God:
Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever
Wisdom and power are His
He changes times and seasons
He sets up kings and deposes them
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning
He reveals deep and hidden things
He knows what lies in darkness
Light dwells within Him
I hope this encourages you in your situation to be reminded of how powerful, wise and all-knowing is our God! He allows people to be in power and He can so choose to remove them as well. No president, no prime minister, no judge, no general, no board member and no boss is more powerful than our omnipotent God!
Our Abba Daddy also knows what lies in darkness ahead of you on your path. He knows what hidden traps are out there because light dwells within Him. He can shine that light to show you the best way forward. If you seek Him and desire to know His will for you, He’ll give you wisdom and discernment because He knows what the future holds for you. What good father wouldn’t want to walk his kids around landmines waiting for them?
Daniel ends his praise session by thanking God and praising Him because He answered his prayer by revealing the meaning of the dream. When the time of testing came, Daniel put his faith in God and not himself to solve the problem. Are you doing that today?
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“There is no such thing as "chance," "luck", or "accident" in the Christian's journey through this world” –J.C.Ryle
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“Nothing whatever, whether great or small, can happen to a believer, without God's ordering and permission”. JC. Ryle
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“The God who knows you best knows the best for you.” – Woodrow Kroll
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Absolutely nothing happens by chance. God is in the every detail of our life. This truth intertwined with the truth that God is good and seeks our good for us should encourage us in our faith and give us perseverance and hope.
Was it mere coincidence that Esther was “extremely good-looking” (v. 7)? Even a master chess player or a brilliant mathematician could not design or anticipate so many variables to determine the desired outcome. But a sovereign God can.
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I realized I’ve been trying to control by worrying and stalking jeremy. I thought that by playing out potential outcomes, I can lessen the blow. “Nothing is going to happen without me being forewarned and prepared to face it.”
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Faith means trusting God. ‘Faith’, as C.S. Lewis wrote, ‘is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.’
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John Newton said, ‘We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday’s burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.’
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Through the waiting God purposes that we discover the truth that He is enough. Waiting shows us that our life doesn’t come from the goals we crush or the bucket list places we get to explore or the person we marry. Waiting shows us that life is found in Jesus.
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