Daniel 2:1-23: Diligence, Dependence, and Thanksgiving: What Daniel Teaches Us About Uncertainty

The book of Daniel is full of examples of what it looks like to live faithfully in exile. Yesterday, we looked at what it meant for Daniel and his three friends — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego — to not compromise when it came to their diet, showing that faithfulness in the little things is the foundation of what it means to be faithful in the big things.

In today's passage, we look at a different story, some years later, though not too long after Daniel and the three's training. King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream, and the dream perplexes and troubles him. In desiring to understand it, he turns to the wise men of his nation for counsel and guidance to help interpret it. But King Nebuchadnezzar wasn't born yesterday. He understands that people tend to be yes-men, especially those who associate themselves with people of power and influence. So he brings in the wise men and asks them to interpret the dream, with one catch: he doesn't actually tell them what he dreamt.

Rightfully, their response is that what he's asking is completely and utterly ridiculous — no man, no person, could ever accomplish such a task, because only the king knows what he dreamt. So they beat around the bush, trying to stall a little. But King Nebuchadnezzar's request holds real weight, because he says that if it isn't done as he's requested, every wise man in Babylon will be killed. That includes Daniel and his three friends. They belong to that same order, having spent years in the king's court being formally trained and educated — they simply weren't the ones summoned into the room that day.

The decree goes out, and the king's guard begins to carry it out. We're not told whether anyone had actually been put to death yet, but word eventually reaches Daniel of what's happening. He asks why the order carries such urgency, not yet understanding that the king intends to put every wise man in Babylon to death — himself included. When he learns this is the king's plan, and that no man has been able to give the king what he's asked for, Daniel immediately says they can do this, and requests an audience with the king. And God gives him the interpretation of the dream through a vision in the night.

This story is fascinating because I think the most obvious takeaway is that the wisdom of God is stronger than the wisdom of man. The wisest, most intelligent, most capable men in Babylon were unable to complete the king's request, and yet Daniel — of Jewish lineage and descent, an exile — is given exactly what the king asks for, by God Himself. God's power is on full display, shaming the power of the Babylonians.

But I think there's something much more practical to take away from Daniel's approach to this whole situation — something we can implement today, this week, this month, this year. Because at the foundation of this series of events is a scary situation that requires great faith. And I think we'd be kidding ourselves to say we don't frequently find ourselves in positions like it.

So if we look at the steps Daniel took here and break them down, I think the first thing we can learn is that one of the first tangible actions we can take when approaching a scary situation, an unknown circumstance, is to gain understanding. Daniel heard that the king's request was urgent. He sought to understand why it was urgent. Daniel gathers all the information — which for us could be seen as being self-reliant, but I think it's much more than that. It's diligence. It's the essence of excellence. We can learn from Daniel here to use the reason and the mind God has given us to get a full picture of the situation and circumstance we find ourselves in.

The next thing Daniel does is request an appointment with the king. What's crazy to me about this is that he requests the appointment before gaining knowledge of the dream, and consequently, before having the interpretation. So I think what we can learn from Daniel here is that sometimes, even after we've gained as much information as we can, we still may not have the answer we're looking for — the one that would give us peace in taking the next step. But in all actuality, peace never comes from our own ability or understanding. It comes from God. So like Daniel, we should seek to take steps of faith that require us to put full trust in God, walking into the unknown of the situation we find ourselves in, fully expectant that God will show up.

But Daniel doesn't just stop there. He makes a decision in faith, and then immediately turns to his community and petitions them, along with himself, to make strong prayers to God, asking that God would give them exactly what the king is asking for. To me, this is the real meat of this story. Because with as much work as we can do and as much faith as we can have, we're still human. Our work will be imperfect, and our faith will be incomplete. That's why prayer is of the greatest necessity when we find ourselves in the darkness of the unknown. David prayed it this way in Psalm 23: even walking through the valley of the shadow of death, there's no need to fear evil, because God is present. That's what prayer does — it reminds us that God is near, that He's able to be conversed with, to be close to in relationship.

So we can learn that, as a response to a step of faith, we pray. We run to God in desperation, asking that He would help us, but most importantly, that His will be done. And in response to Daniel and his friends' prayers, God gives them what they ask for. That's descriptive, not prescriptive — as I look back on my own life, not every answer to prayer is God giving me exactly what I asked for. But in this case, it was.

Our response to answered prayer must always be praise. That's what Daniel does. Before even going to Nebuchadnezzar with the answer to the king's great problem, he stops and thanks God for who He is. He gives glory and credit to God's name. He ascribes to God His power — power that far supersedes the power of the world. He praises God for His wisdom, the same wisdom the world was founded by, the wisdom the world operates by, the wisdom existence itself is dependent on. And he credits to God knowledge — knowledge of the secret places, the darkest corners of the most powerful minds, places God is intimately familiar with. All of this is Daniel's great thanksgiving to God.

So when we look at the story of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and then Daniel's response, we can see what God calls us to in moments of uncertainty. It's not perfection, but dependence. It's not self-reliance, but discipline. And it's not ability, but submission.

So today, in the moments where you feel the urgency of the situation you find yourself in — remind yourself: it's okay to use the mind God has given you. It's okay to take a step in faith. It's not okay to do it apart from prayer. And when that prayer is answered, it's not okay to move on without stopping to give thanks. Be like Daniel today.