“I thank and praise
you, O God…You have made known to us the dream of the king.” Daniel 2:23
Monday. 7:48 AM.
You’ve just set down your coffee and turned on your computer when the
head of company security steps in your office to say, “You’re fired.” “For what?!” you ask in astonishment. Seems as though the boss had an idea over the
weekend and at an early morning business meeting demanded that regional
directors to tell him what his idea was and how it could be used or else they
would be fired. Their pleas for him to
first share his idea were met with harsh accusations of company conspiracy, and
their complaints of unfairness had garnered immediate dismissal for all in
their divisions. Shocked, stunned, and
trying to save your job, you go to the boss and request time to think of his
idea and its implementation.
While
this seems an unlikely business scenario for today, the situation was stark
reality for Daniel and his three best friends.
The difference was that their boss wasn’t merely a CEO; he was
Nebuchadnezzar, the most powerful king in the world. This king didn’t want his workers just to
guess an idea; he wanted the royal wise men to tell and interpret his nightmare
of the previous evening, and the consequence for failure wasn’t losing their
jobs, it was losing their lives. Nebuchadnezzar’s
demands weren’t fair, but they were final.
After
Daniel’s request for a deadline extension was granted by the king, he “returned to his house, explained the matter
to his friends and urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven
concerning this mystery”(Dan 2:18). They
all hit their knees and cried out in desperation, and during the night, the
dream was revealed to Daniel in a divine vision.
But
before he told the king, he thanked God.
“Then Daniel praised the God of
heaven and said: ‘I thank and praise you, O God of my fathers: You have given me wisdom and power, you have
made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of
the king’”(Dan 2:23). Even with his life on the line, Daniel took time to
give thanks.
When
life seems a mystery, hit your knees and cry to heaven. Pray diligently. Plead desperately. The One who knows all will reveal all you
need to know.
Life
isn’t always fair, but God is always faithful.
Give
thanks.
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