Among LionsSample

CONTEXT: Daniel has a vision of his own.

Throughout this series, we’ve seen God give Daniel the ability to reveal dreams and interpret messages for others. This week, we’ll take a look at one of Daniel’s own dreams.

As the chapter begins, we read that this dream occurred during the reign of Belshazzar, the king we learned about in Chapter 5, who had Daniel interpret the writing on the wall. Knowing that Daniel had experience revealing mysteries, we might assume that he felt confident in his abilities, especially when we learn that this chapter is almost a mirror image of the dream Daniel interpreted for King Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 2. In that dream, God revealed the fall of four earthly empires by using the image of a statue built from different materials and the rise of God’s eternal kingdom that will be forever. This time, God reveals the same message using the image of four beasts instead of a statue. God also provides more details of the eternal kingdom He will establish.

Each time Daniel had a vision or was called on to interpret one, he relied on God for help. This time was no different. Although Daniel had already interpreted the first dream, we learn he relies on an angel within his own dream to help him understand what he’s seeing.

As we grow in understanding, experience, and success, it’s easy to rely on our own abilities. And when things become unexplainable, we dismiss them as though they aren’t from God. As we’ll see this week, God’s ways, timing, mysteries, and methods are not like ours. They might even seem scary or crazy to us at times. But like Daniel, we can be encouraged even by the things we can’t comprehend because God’s already told us how things end with Him on the throne.

CONSIDER THIS:

1. Examine your own abilities. Which ones are you tempted to believe are due to your hard work, experience, or success?

2. How do you feel when you cannot understand what God is doing? Can you have peace knowing He’s in control, or does the uncertainty cause you to be anxious or fearful?

3. Write a prayer asking God to help you let go of the things you don’t fully comprehend and learn to trust Him.