Daniel 2:44

During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. Thanks to God’s help, Daniel was able to tell King Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamed and then interpret that dream as well. He said there would be four kingdoms, all of which gave an impression of strength, but would fall. However, at the same time, God was establishing his own kingdom, which would last for ever. Through the years, people have wanted to identify the four kingdoms, and there have been lots of candidates. That is not the point of the dream. The point is that when God establishes his kingdom, it will endure. History is in God’s hands. Through the centuries, there has been a long succession of seemingly all-powerful kingdoms. They were militarily strong, they shaped powerful cultures and they dominated their people’s thinking. It was inconceivable that they could ever come to an end, but they did. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream revealed that God’s kingdom is greater than any human kingdom and will ultimately win. No one should despair when facing up to one of the world’s empires. Strong as they might seem, God’s kingdom is greater. As we look at the problems of our modern world, these words should be an encouragement to us. There is much that is commendable about our world, but much that is oppressive and broken. When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we pray for the coming of the kingdom of God, and we should do so with confidence and conviction. As we live in line with God’s will, we see his kingdom slowly but surely emerging here on earth as it is in heaven. However terrible the day’s news, we should not despair, because the kingdom that God is establishing will last forever.

Question In what way does it encourage you to know that history is in God’s hands?

Prayer Loving Father, I worship you because history is in your hands. I thank you that your kingdom is coming here on earth as it is in heaven. Amen

Daniel 2:23

“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.” Daniel had been given an impossible job. Not only did he have to tell King Nebuchadnezzar the interpretation of his dream, but he had to inform the king what he had dreamed about in the first place! What made the matter even worse was that the king’s wise men were threatened with death if they failed. However, Daniel knew that he was in touch with the source of all wisdom, God himself, and so he prayed. You wouldn’t blame Daniel if he had prayed a desperate prayer, screaming at God to do the impossible in order to save him from certain death, but he didn’t. His prayer was one of worship and adoration. He acknowledged that God was the source of all wisdom and power and that, ultimately, everything that happened in the world was in the Lord’s hands. He was confident that God would do what looked impossible and reveal both the content and interpretation of the King’s dream. I can’t think of anything that I have been asked to do that matches Daniel’s challenge and you might well feel the same. However, we all face challenges that are beyond us. We meet people whose lives are in turmoil, and we hear of broken relationships that look insoluble. We hear about the problems of ill health, discrimination, poverty, substance abuse, violence and much else besides. It is very easy to feel overwhelmed and even depressed by the enormous scale of these problems, but we would do well to take a leaf out of Daniel’s book. We need to pray. Before anything else, we need to praise God. We need to acknowledge that he is the king of the world and that he alone is the source of love, peace, wisdom and truth. He is worthy of all of our devotion, and as we place ourselves in his hands, he will equip us to respond to the challenges around us.

Question As you face the specific challenges of today, how are you going to pray?

Prayer Lord God, you are the source of all wisdom and strength. I make myself available to you and invite you to fill me with your Holy Spirit. Amen

Daniel 1:17

God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams. The book of Daniel transports us to the time when Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, invaded Judah and took thousands of its residents into exile. This happened in the 6th century BC. God had clearly prophesied that this would happen if the people failed to obey him, and Babylon’s victory was utterly humiliating. To be dragged hundreds of miles away to a completely unfamiliar place and culture represented Judah’s total failure. However, King Nebuchadnezzar recognised that amid the exiles were some very gifted young men. He chose four of them who were strong, healthy, and good-looking, and trained them up for service in the royal palace. They were Daniel and his three friends, who we know best by their Babylonian names: Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The four exiles clearly fitted well into their new life. They had an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. We also learn that God gave Daniel the special gift of interpreting dreams. It wasn’t an innate ability or a skill that he had acquired through doing extensive reading. God gave him the gift, and the outcome was transformative for the exiles and for the future history of God’s people. This isn’t just an ancient story of how God worked long ago. Today, God gives gifts to the right people to do his work. Sometimes the gifts we are given are closely related to our natural abilities, but often they are not. He gives gifts of caring, speaking his word, administration, healing, listening and prophesying. Our need is to be open to receive God’s gifts, however big a surprise they may be to us. When we receive them and start using them, we need to remember that they aren’t the result of our own personal brilliance, but a gift from God, who deserves all the praise.

Question What special gift has God given you, and how are you going to use it today?

Prayer Loving God, thank you for your generosity and love. Help me to treasure every gift that you have given to me. Amen