When Opportunity Knocks?
Sermon Series: Life Choices
13. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be killed; and they searched for Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guards, which had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15. He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree so urgent from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.
19. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of Heaven.
Daniel 2:13-16, 19
You can Panic or You can Pray!
Panic seems to be the modern response for many that face a life crisis. It goes without question that far too many live in the panic mode. Is that the way God designed for His people to live? Should we panic or pray?
For answers, we need only turn to the Scriptures to find that God’s greatest miracles occurred in response to a crisis. The opening of the Red Sea happened as God’s children were being attacked by the Egyptians. The feeding of the multitude was a response to a crisis as people had gone three days without food. Please don’t misread a crisis as something that God orchestrates in order to introduce a miracle. That is clearly not the case but, God does allow all crisis to take place. He knows about them and is well able to handle every one of them. Here is the point, the crisis is not to prove God but to test the believer’s response. How will we respond to a threat? How will we react to a life situation that is beyond human control? We can either panic or pray.
How should we pray when these emergencies take place? I believe the Scripture text provides some very practical directions. As Daniel and his three countrymen received the news about the destruction of all the wise men in Babylon, they could have reacted in fear. They could have concluded that there was nothing they could do, but that would have been incorrect. There was something they could do and something that they did do: they sought Mercies of the God of Heaven. Please note that Arioch arrived, probably with sword drawn to take their lives, but Daniel responded wisely. Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guards, which had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. After all, they had been trained to be wise men, so what better time to reflect wisdom than in an emergency? Notice, they were able to keep calm and ask for a clear understanding of what prompted the decree.
It is fairly common for counselors and life coaches to use problem solving skills to help people to in distress. The process starts with an adequate assessment of the situation. What is actually going on? If you don’t stop and attempt to understand the problem, you will never arrive at the correct answer.
In the military, my first career field was fire protection and rescue. Every fire fighter was taught to evaluate the situation before attempting to combat the fire. Even when it involved saving another person, you had to assess then danger prior to acting. What is the size of the fire? How do you attack the fire? Do you have the proper gear for the emergency? It is that last point that we need to reflect on: do we have the proper equipment or resources to deal with the crisis? In a life crisis, we must ask the question of resources and where those resources will come from. Daniel and his friends knew that they did not have the solution, but they knew where to look. As my Grandma would say, “All my help comes from the Lord.”
To simply panic makes the problem worse. Daniel was wise enough to respond by asking for more time. I interpret that to mean, he asked Arioch, “Why rush and kill everybody when somebody might come up with the solution.” So, Daniel was not only smart, he was being prompted by the wisdom from God.
So, our first lesson about opportunities is that they often come disguised as a crisis. As the late Dr. Myles Munroe said, “God uses problems to reveal purpose.” But if you give in to the problem, you will never discover your purpose. God did not allow the problem to come to send you into a panic but to send you to your knees. Some might conclude that prayer does not solve the problem, but true believers would conclude that prayer is the only answer for the problem. If God is not on the scene, the crisis will only get worse. Daniel knew where his help came from and the Scripture records that they desired time from the king, but desired “Mercies of the God of Heaven.” Don’t allow the problem to produce panic, but let it pressure you to pray.
Good Things Hiding in a Bad Situation
The second lesson in the text reveals that Daniel did not rely on his own confidence and ability. Daniel was not ashamed to admit to the king, “we need more time.” When a person is confident in God’s ability, they must reflect humility because God is the One who responds to the crisis. We may be the instruments of God’s response, but we are definitely not the source. He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree so urgent from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel … Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation. It is a big mistake to become presumptuous when praying for God’s mercy. That reflects a spirit of pride and we all know that pride leads to a downfall but God gives Grace to the humble. Daniel was a very confident man, but he was also a very humble man. He did not take God’s intervention lightly.
Don’t get this wrong. Daniel and his companions faced a dire situation. Yet Daniel confidently said to the king, “give us time and we will give you the answer.” What if God decided not to give the answer? What if the king got impatient? There are many scenarios that could have played out but let me share with you why the doubts did not prevail. The same God who would reveal the answer to Daniel had put the question in the king’s mind. Not only that, the same God who would give Daniel the patience to pray also gave the king patience to wait. In other words, God was in control.
It is our choice to believe that God is in complete control or to choose to believe that God has no control over life. Of course, we know that God is always in control otherwise He would have to change His nature. As Almighty God, He cannot change.
Do you remember the episode of Superman when he wanted to become a human so he could marry Lois Lane? Superman had to go into this transformation chamber that would reverse his DNA and make him human. Well, with God, there is no transformation chamber that would fit. Nor will there ever be a time when God does not enjoy being God Almighty. If He ever changed, Heaven and earth would pass away. If God ever changed, there would be no hope, no future, no Heaven, no Mercy. Thank God, the Lord God Almighty never changes. He is the Everlasting God, age to age the same, world without end. Amen.
This brings us to the third lesson. God used the problem to give Daniel the opportunity to introduce God to a pagan king. This opportunity would knock and Daniel accepted the challenge in order to show that God not only gave the answer, but also gave Grace. In other words, the king was about to receive a God lesson.
Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of Heaven. Please recall that the king did not tell the wise men anything about the dream, so they had to unravel the mystery with nothing to work with. That was not a problem for Daniel because God would show him everything that He had put into the mind of King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel explained to the king had seen a great image that represented the current kingdom of Babylon as well as future kingdoms. The interesting point is that the image would be destroyed by a Stone cut without hands that would strike the image at its feet. Daniel interpreted this as the “Kingdom that shall stand forever.” This actually brings us to the fourth lesson: God is the only One who knows the secrets of the hearts of men.
The Lord could have easily set up kingdoms without informing anyone. God could have simply conducted His plan and leave the humans in the dark, but that is not God. God is all powerful, but He is also all loving. He desires for everyone to know His plan and His will. Make no mistake about it, Nebuchadnezzar was an evil king, but God showed him the plan for the future. Because Daniel took advantage of an opportunity, God spoke to that pagan king. While the king did not repent, he did note that the God of Daniel was the God of all Gods.
Each day, we have an opportunity to share God’s good news with others. We can either panic or pray. Be wise like Daniel and pray that God would help you to turn that situation into an opportunity for God’s Glory.