When things go from bad to worse, do as Daniel did! Daniel ch 2

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C

chancer

Guest
#1
Another wonderfully encouraging piece of scripture is Daniel Ch 2.

I've entitled this when things go from bad to worse - do what Daniel did. My reasoning is quite straight forward, and shall be explained with an overview of the full chapter. But lets paint a little bit of context first. Daniel is a minor prophet with a major story.

Daniel would be just a teenager when the Babylonians invaded his his country and took members of the royal and noble families as captives. King Nebuchadnezzar was in power and was nobody's fool. Out of all the heathen monarchs he is the best known and most prominent. A powerful military man with a quick temper who was not adverse to demonstrating his power. He was not a man to trifle with.

Daniel chapter 2 opens up with the king in his second year. He had bad dreams which 'troubled him' greatly. So he calls all his wise men which include the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and the Chaldeans who were diviners. Nebuchadnezzar issues a decree that not only should the wise men of Babylon interpret the dream but also they should tell him what the dream consists of. He wanted to ensure they didn't make up any baloney, after all their lives were at stake.

The pressure is turned up a notch when the king commands them, saying "If you do not make known to me the dream and it's interpretation I shall cut you up into pieces and reduces your homes to piles of rubble. Totally unnecessary demonstration of his power! On the plus side if they could do as he decreed he would shower them with great gifts, rewards and honour. I know personally I'd still be worrying about the consequences if I couldn't.

What the king asked was impossible for the wise men. And when the king thinks they are trying to buy time he re emphasises his threats. The response from the wise men rings in my ears "There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks". Raging the king commands all the wise men of Babylon to be destroyed, this included Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. Things go very much from bad to worse!

And so enters the hero of this story, and our very special minor prophet Daniel.

Instead of running a mile, which is what I think I might have done - Daniel does something only a man with immense faith in God could have done. He calls a prayer meeting. Daniel and his friends enquire towards the Lord for the meaning of this seemingly impossible task, and the king gives them till the following morning.

Wow what pressure this must been. How does a simple slave handle this with such faith? How does he keep his cool, maintain his composure and handle the king with such wisdom and finesse?

Daniel was no ordinary man, He was a man of much wisdom and integrity. Someone who stood up for what he believed to be true, even at his own personal risk. From the very beginning of the book Daniel makes a decision to be set apart for Gods purposes and forsakes eating the fine foods and drinking the fine wines the king has to offer, rather having just vegetables and water on account of his faith in God. Daniel spoke the truth and lived for it. later on when the kings men become jealous of him, they try to dish the dirt on Daniel and have to trick him into breaking the Kings decree through honouring his faith, which the king at that time had made illegal. They couldn't get anything on Daniel because He was a man of deep conviction and integrity. Honest and trustworthy.

You see often things in life will go from bad to worse, things will happen which are out of our control and sometimes God wont intervene until the last minute.

When things go from bad to worse, do what Daniel did. Be a man of faith even up to the seemingly bitter end. For you see God waited till the last minute to intervene and Daniel trusted God all the way. And this was the outcome, one of the most powerful prayers and statements of faith in scripture.

[h=1]Daniel 2:20-23English Standard Version (ESV)[/h]20 Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king's matter.”



 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,249
25,719
113
#2
Daniel 2
20 Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
21 He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;
22 he reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my fathers,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and might,
and have now made known to me what we asked of you,
for you have made known to us the king's matter.”
Amen! :) ...
 
S

skylove7

Guest
#3
Awesome and encouraging post Chancer!
Thank you for sharing....Amen!

If I may?
This encouraging thread actually just inspired me to write a brief poem from my own experience.
God bless you all
In love and strength


At times when I was falling
Crashing from the enemy
Before that moment taken under
Jesus rescued me

Within minutes of the devil
Trying to break me
Thinking he'd win
Trying to have all that was beautiful
Left inside me,...my love within

I felt Jesus lift me high in love
And dry my tears of sorrow
And then I realized,..God never left me
I then had strength, to face tomorrow

And when that tomorrow came
In love...
I was blessed as I could be

For I held on
Through life's bitter storms
For Jesus rescued me :)


Thank you again Brother Chancer
God bless your life in love and safety
 
Last edited:
Dec 12, 2013
46,515
20,395
113
#4
You know..there are three people listed by God in the bible that would be delivered by their own righteousness if possible......Daniel is one of the three listed....even though he was a wonderful, faithful man of God he also in prayer confessed his sins which means he was a sinner and occasionally sinned......some men's sins go before judgment and some men's sins follow!
 
C

chancer

Guest
#5
Awesome and encouraging post Chancer!
Thank you for sharing....Amen!

If I may?
This encouraging thread actually just inspired me to write a brief poem from my own experience.
God bless you all
In love and strength


At times when I was falling
Crashing from the enemy
Before that moment taken under
Jesus rescued me

Within minutes of the devil
Trying to break me
Thinking he'd win
Trying to have all that was beautiful
Left inside me,...my love within

I felt Jesus lift me high in love
And dry my tears of sorrow
And then I realized,..God never left me
I then had strength, to face tomorrow

And when that tomorrow came
In love...
I was blessed as I could be

For I held on
Through life's bitter storms
For Jesus rescued me :)


Thank you again Brother Chancer
God bless your life in love and safety
hey thanks lovely poem