The resources God has given us to live a thriving life are His Word, Spirit, and People.
Read God’s Word:
Daniel 4-6
Act 2: God’s Covenant People
Scene 8: Exile: God Disciplines His People
Background Information: Daniel 4-6
King Nebuchadnezzar had seen and heard of God’s glory, but he remained personally unconvinced of the need to yield his life to God. It is remarkable that God not only used this king for the purpose of judging his people, but he also judged him with the purpose of bringing him to repentance and faith. Did this Babylonian king become a follower of the one true God? God only knows whether this was another temporary burst of emotional faith or actually saving faith. It is no coincidence that his sanity was lost when he reveled in his own glory, and it was restored when he humbled himself before God. Human pride is insane, and humility is the foundation of sanity. As the narrative jumps forward in time, the foolish grandson of Nebuchadnezzar is throwing a lavish party as the Persian army is stealthily advancing on the city. As prophesized years earlier, God was going to judge his instrument of judgement. Babylon would fall that very night to the Persians, and the boastful, self-indulgent king Belshazzar would be killed in the process. The pace of the story here is brisk, but the point of Scripture is not mere human historical narrative, but God’s grand purposes in the gospel narrative. Daniel had been put on the shelf at the end of the time of the Babylonians, but now he was again thrust into the national spotlight as he becomes one of the top three leaders in the Persian nation. Now an older man, Daniel surely would have preferred to just be left alone. However, God’s purposes for him did not include a peaceful retirement, but to faithfully serve God to the end. Daniel’s wisdom, work ethic, and character made him the subject of jealousy. An elaborate scheme was devised to trap Daniel. This led to the famous lion’s den rescue that made Daniel even more highly esteemed. More importantly, it led to the Persian king to give glory to Daniel’s God. Remember, Daniel is to be admired, but he is not the hero of this story. God is working in all of human history to accomplish his grand purposes. God uses single individual humans, living faithful lives, as part of his grand purposes. Daniel was faithful in times of great testing and in times of great success. His faithfulness should challenge and inspire us to greater personal grit. However, we must keep in mind that God gave Daniel every gift and opportunity that he enjoyed. In our gritty efforts, we must be careful to fully rely on God’s free grace.
Pray:
Praise God for…
Thank God for…
Confess your sins to God
Ask God to protect our government leaders. Pray that they would use their God ordained positions to serve our nation so that we might live peaceful godly lives. (1 Timothy 2:2)
Ask God for… (what else concerns you?)
Reflect:
Write down one passage of scripture that stood out to you today.
Write down why this passage stood out to you.
Engage Community:
Text or call someone now and tell them…
– What you are praying for.
– What stood out from God’s word today.