Faith in Uncertain Times
Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel said:
“Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons,
deposes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my ancestors,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power,
and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.”
Daniel 2:17-23
This is not the devotional I planned to write. Our family has been experiencing a particularly dark episode, uncertain times, and we prayed and tried to follow God’s lead, and we trusted that He is truly in control, but it was still dark and difficult and uncertain. And then, suddenly, the light began to shine. Praise God. I know He is truly with us. I know He is truly sovereign, and He is in control of everything, and I praise Him because of who He is and also because He continually affirms His faithfulness. I planned to write a message of pure praise. Like the Doxology: “Praise God, from whom all blessings glow; praise him, all creatures here below; praise him above ye heavenly host; praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen” (by Thomas Ken). My heart is filled with praise, thanksgiving and worship; however, for some reason the words that flowed out below returned to the theme of God revealing His glory through darkness, through uncertainty, through the difficult times we face.
Reading the Book of Daniel, it occurred to me that we have the benefit of Daniel’s full story. We see Daniel’s faith and God’s faithful deliverance time and time again, and with the benefit of his full story in our mind we might fail to appreciate the uncertainty Daniel experienced while living through the unfolding events. God knows how everything will fit together and conclude, but like us, Daniel did not. Through the book bearing his name we see that, while facing horrific circumstances, he continued trusting, obeying, praising, worshiping and thanking God.
In the passage above we see that, as soon as he learned of a particularly awful problem to be solved, he gathered with friends and prayed seeking God’s help. Daniel continued demonstrating faith in the face of troubling circumstances. As I read about him, I ponder my reaction to the chaos of life. When I am faced with troubling circumstances, what is my first response? Do I go to other people for help, or do I seek God’s help? Do I trust other people, or God? Perhaps you answer that you trust the people God sends to help, which might be true, but at what point in the process do you pray?
When Daniel was a young man, the Babylonian army conquered Judah. He survived the war, but was taken captive, removed from his home and transported to Babylon. His life was turned upside down through forces entirely beyond his control. Everything is subject to God’s control, and through it all, he continued trusting God.
King Nebuchadnezzar ordered the best and brightest young men from Judah to be educated in Chaldean literature, language and customs. Daniel and his friends were among those chosen, and they were housed in the palace, and appointed to be fed the finest food and wine available from the royal kitchen. He had been suddenly taken from his home and family and delivered to a strange new place. Daniel did not have much choice and he went along with it all, however, he and his friends drew the line when it came to their diet. They believed the royal food and wine would defile them, so they requested to be fed vegetables and water. Surprisingly, the palace master accommodated their request, and Daniel and his friends flourished. God gave them “knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and wisdom; Daniel also had insight into all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17). Following their time of education, the king appointed them to serve on his court.
Through the turmoil of difficult circumstances, God blessed them. Scripture reveals that God ordained Babylon’s capture of Judah. He foretold the event through His prophets and it happened just as He said it would. Speaking through the prophet Jeremiah, God says,
And I will give all Judah into the hand of the king of Babylon; he shall carry them captive to Babylon, and shall kill them with the sword. I will give all the wealth of this city, all its gains, all its prized belongings, and all the treasures of the kings of Judah into the hand of their enemies, who shall plunder them, and seize them, and carry them to Babylon. Jeremiah 20:4-5
God employed a pagan king to carry out His holy will, and Daniel was caught up in the whirlwind of events, but God never left Daniel. God ordained the events and He was with Daniel every step of the way, but He did not remove Daniel from the chaos. Daniel’s knowledge, skill, wisdom and insight were gifts from God. God planned to use Daniel’s gifts through Daniel’s capture, relocation, indoctrination and new position on the king’s court. The events swirling around Daniel during the turmoil must have been disconcerting, but Daniel stood firmly on his faith, trusting in God, obeying God, staying true to God, and God demonstrated His faithfulness through the troubling events.
During the second year of the king’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar was greatly troubled by a recurring dream. He gathered all the wise men of his kingdom and he asked them to describe his dream to him and interpret the dream. They said such a feat was impossible and the king flew into a rage, ordering all the wise men to be executed. The king’s executioner went to Daniel intent on carrying out the order. When Daniel learned of the situation, he asked the king for a little time to solve the problem. The king granted Daniel’s request, and Daniel went immediately home to talk with his friends so that they might all join in prayer, seeking God’s mercy and insight concerning the mystery. The Book of Daniel records Daniel’s prayer saying,
Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
Daniel said:
“Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
for wisdom and power are his.
He changes times and seasons,
deposes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding.
He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with him.
To you, O God of my ancestors,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power,
and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.” Daniel 2:17-23
God granted their request. He revealed the dream to Daniel and provided the interpretation of the dream, so he, his friends and all the wise men in the kingdom were spared.
Daniel was blessed by God. God positioned him in the king’s palace, granted him exposure to the most powerful man in the world at the time, granted him remarkable wisdom and insight, yet his life was far from easy. He faced turmoil and chaos. He faced execution by the king’s command. His faith was tested, and he stood firm on his faith in God during each dark day, and God remained faithful. God did not prevent the Babylonians from capturing Daniel. God did not prevent Daniel’s life from being uprooted and upended. God did not prevent the king from ordering Daniel’s execution, rather, God worked through each ordeal, demonstrating His faithfulness, and through the difficulties Daniel’s faith grew.
God allowed Daniel to endure the suffering for a time, and God was with him every step of the way. The psalmist reiterates this writing,
Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.
When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honor them.
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation. Psalm 91:14-16
God says, “I will be with them in trouble….” He will allow the trouble to continue according to His sovereign will, and then, at the right time, He will “rescue them and honor them.” He does not promise to immediately remove us from trouble the moment we ask, but He does promise that He is with us every step of the way.
We must each ask ourselves, how do I respond? Do I respond to difficulty and darkness by trusting God even more, or do I move in the opposite direction?
In the Scripture reading first set forth above, Daniel responds by gathering with friends in prayer, praising and worshiping God, and affirming God’s sovereignty. How do you respond to the darkness swirling in your life? How do you respond to the difficulties, the trials, the tests that you face? Daniel’s story shows that God works through the difficulties. As our faith is strengthened, He reveals His faithfulness to us, and this is part of God’s plan for us.
As Jesus prays during the evening of the Last Supper, He knows we will face trials and tribulation. He knows the world is a dark place and He calls us to be out in the world serving as light in the darkness. He prays to God the Father saying,
“I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. John 17:6-19
Daniel knew that his insight, wisdom, knowledge and opportunities came from God. Similarly, the disciples knew that everything Jesus possessed and gave them was from God. Jesus prays asking God to protect them so that they develop unity among themselves, to guard them, to protect them from the evil one, and to sanctify them in the truth. He desires that they may continue serving in the world as light in the darkness, knowing that the world will hate them because they do not belong to the world, knowing that they will face difficult, hardship, suffering, and He does not ask God to remove them from the difficulties, He asks God to help them during their time of difficulty so that they grow in faith through the trials.
What application do you see in your life? What is God allowing you to go through so that your faith might grow? I urge you to pray for God’s protection and sanctification in the truth, so that you might grow in faith through the darkness you face. May God continue shining His glory through you. Amen.