On Daniel 2 - God's Sovereignty

After God revealed to Daniel what Nebuchadnezzar's dream was, Daniel went to the executioner and asked him to bring Daniel to the king. I find it interesting that when the king asks Daniel, "Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?" (v. 26), Daniel responds by saying, "No wise man, enchanter, magician, or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about," (v. 27.) When his life is on the line, wouldn't his first response be YES! But even in this dire situation, Daniel gives the credit and glory to God. "But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come." (v. 28).

Daniel goes on to explain the king's dream to him. When he is finished, "King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. The king said to Daniel, 'Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.'" (vv. 46 - 47)

God used this situation to glorify Himself. Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful ruler in the world at the time, and he acknowledged that God was supreme. What a testimony to the people. Their king worshiped the Lord. What else would they do? Daniel and his friends were given high positions in the kingdom. God had established Himself within the kingdom of Babylon through the faith of his servant Daniel.

What more can I do but to acknowledge the Lord among men and seek Him in all things, especially when things are difficult. I also need to remember to give Him the credit and praise when He helps me through those tough times.

On Daniel 2

One night, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream. "His mind was troubled and he could not sleep." (v. 1) How many times has this happened to me? I lie awake going over and over things in my mind. No matter how tired I am, I just can't sleep! Sometimes God just wants to tell me something, as He was trying to tell Nebuchadnezzar something. If I will just stop and listen to Him or do what He is asking me to do, peace will come.

"The king replied to the astrologers, 'This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces, and your houses turned into piles of rubble.'" (v. 5) This seems a bit severe! Imagine having a sleep-deprived dictator tell you that if you don't tell him what he just dreamed about and what it means, he will not only kill you, but cut you into pieces and destroy your home (not that you would care after you've been cut into pieces!). Those servants must have been shaking! I think it's funny how they handled it. They nervously replied, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it." (v. 7) Do you think their voices were quivering? I think mine would have been!

I like how God used this to glorify Himself and help the king see He is the only God. The astrologers set things up nicely when they responded, "Who one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men." (v. 11) Don't they? There is One who does, as He is about to reveal! (But not before the king, in his anger, orders the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. Unfortunately, this included Daniel and his friends, who weren't there at the time.)

When the commander of the king's guard showed up at Daniel's place to execute him, Daniel, of course, asks "with wisdom and tact" (v. 14) what's going on. Again, God is in control, and the king allows Daniel some time to interpret his dream. Daniel and his friends "plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." (v. 18) Daniel and his friends are the only ones who turn to God. Even the wise men, who said that the gods could reveal the dream to the king, did not turn to their gods. How hopeless and depressing is it to believe in gods you don't feel comfortable turning to in your time of need?

And of course, God, being the sovereign, holy, wonderful God He is, revealed the dream to Daniel in a vision. And what is Daniel's response? "Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are His..." (v. 20). This prayer of praise and thanksgiving goes on until verse 23. How often do wonderful things happen in my life, and I forget to thank God? I am usually pretty quick to turn to Him when I'm in trouble, but when the trouble's gone, my tendency is to forget to thank God for His help. I need to follow Daniel's example instead.

On Daniel 1 - God is in Control

God is leading me to Daniel this month. It seems a strange place to re-ignite my spiritual walk. I was thinking that He would have me read one of the gospels or the epistles. Why an Old Testament book of prophecy? I questioned this all morning until I started reading today. God knows what He's doing (was there any doubt?).

Why do bad things happen? There are a myriad of reasons. But no matter what happens, God is always in control of the situation. He allows challenges to happen to us to increase our faith, shape us into His image, force us to trust Him, teach others that He is sovereign, as punishment for our sin. These are but a few reasons I found just reading the first chapter of Daniel.

Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, beseiged Jerusalem in about 605 B.C. Daniel 1:2 says, "And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand." Why would God deliver the king of His nation into the hand of the enemy? Because of Jehoiakim's disobedience. This shows that nothing happens without God's hand in it. God was still in control of the situation, even though it seemed hopeless. This was punishment for the disobedience of His people - which they had been warned about (see Isaiah).

Again, God shows He is in control in verses 8 - 9 when Daniel asks for permission not to eat the royal food and wine. Verse 9 says, "Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel." God is still guiding events to work out according to His ultimate plan.

Daniel and his friends were healthier eating vegetables and water than those who were eating the royal food. God takes care of our bodies and our spiritual well-being. He allowed Daniel the opportunity to eat food that was good for him.

God again showed His sovereignty in the successes of Daniel and his friends. "In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom" (v. 20). Even in His people's captivity, God shows He is in control and is far superior to any other "god".

A New Year, A New Commitment

This past year has been very challenging for me on a personal level. I have been more physically tired than I've been in my life (I'm wondering if it's medical - I'll be going to the doctor later this month to find out). But this has taken a toll on me as a mom and a woman of faith.

I have been lazy and neglected my time with God and my personal health. So this weekend, I spent some time in prayer and asked God to help me focus myself to see what goals I should have for this year. I have started a Health Journal to help me with my physical, social, spiritual and marital goals in an effort to become more healthy.

This means that tomorrow I will be starting a healthier "diet" plan, exercising and making sure I spend time in prayer every morning. I will also be working through a book of the Bible each month to help me become closer to God. How can I know His heart if I don't spend time in His Word?

The verse God keeps calling me back to is Deuteronomy 8:3b, "...man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord." This is going to be my life verse for 2008, to keep reminding myself that I need to spend time in the Word and that food is not all-important!

For January, I will be looking at the book of Daniel, since that's the book I'm feeling led to right now.

I'm trusting God that 2008 will be a year of tremendous growth for me on a spiritual level and on a physical level. I know that means I will likely go through some difficult stuff, but I know God will help me through it and teach me as we go through it.

I made this pretty Health Journal to help me stay motivated to journal what I'm doing! Hopefully that will help keep me on track!

Grandparents

What a blessing for our boys to have wonderful grandparents (on both sides of the family!). Last night, Ian's parents came over for supper, and lavished attention on Adam and Noah. Adam loved wrestling with Grandpa and listening to stories with Grandma. Noah loves to snuggle with them! Tomorrow, we'll leave for Kelowna to see my mom and John, and I know the boys will get lots of attention there, too.

Crazy Hat Day!

On Thursday it was crazy hat day at AWANA, so here's what I came up with in my infinite creativity! We took Adam's pirate hat and pinned stars to it! I drew the stars, he coloured them, and I cut them out. He was quite proud of his hat, and he wanted to wear it for days afterwards! Noah seems to like it too!

To My Dad

It has been ten years today that my dad passed away from colon cancer. His passing has gotten easier as the years have gone by, but this year seems particularly difficult. Ten years seems like such a long time to be without him, but it has gone so quickly. It feels like he was here only yesterday.

I was blessed to have two wonderful parents who loved each other and my sister and me, and who spent lots of time with us growing up. My dad was always involved in our sports activities and our school work. He encouraged us to always try our best, be honest, be on time as a courtesy to others, and to honour our commitments.

My favourite memory of my dad is just a few weeks before he died. He was in bed (it was afternoon, but he was very tired), and I was lying with my head on his chest. I was apologizing to him for not being the best daughter. I had been a pretty obnoxious teenager and felt I needed to say sorry for that! He told me to stop apologizing, and he said, "You'll never know how special you are." To me, that is such an amazing picture of a parent's love. I am so grateful for the 23 years I had with him, though it was much too short.

I love you, Daddy. I am so glad that I'll see you again in Heaven!