Read

Daniel 2:12-23
¹²The king was furious when he heard this, and he sent out orders to execute all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. ¹⁴When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. ¹⁵He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. ¹⁶Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time so he could tell the king what the dream meant.
¹⁷Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. ¹⁸He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven, ²⁰saying,

“Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he alone has all wisdom and power.
²¹
He determines the course of world events;
he removes kings and sets others on the throne.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the scholars.
²²
He reveals deep and mysterious things
and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
though he himself is surrounded by light.
²³
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.”

Reflect

Daniel and his friends found themselves in a situation where they didn’t have control. Their lives were threatened because the other “wise” men couldn’t tell the king what his dream was or what it meant. Daniel could have tried to take it into his own hands. He could have run away. He could have tried to resist. Instead, Daniel used the wisdom that God had given him during his three years in captivity. He did only what he could in the situation and left the rest to God to do what only God can do.
Three lessons we can take away from our reading:

1. Understand the situation (Daniel 2:15)
2. Formulate a plan. (Daniel 2:16)
3. Pray for God’s intervention. (Daniel 2:17-18)

Respond

1. Why wasn’t the king aware of Daniel prior to this?
2. A popular saying is that crisis does not make the man, it reveals the man. How does this apply to Daniel?
3. What steps can we take in dealing with crisis?

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