It is easy now days to feel a bit hopeless when we read or watch the news!  We seem to be lurching from one emergency to the next without resolving anything.  Our world seems to be burning up, flooding and dying.  Wars or the rumors of war are rampant and there seems to be no end or solution in sight!

Then I ponder anew the predicament of Daniel.  He was a stranger in a foreign land with no hope of returning home.  He had faced the prospect of death and uncertainty repeatedly.  Now, as chapter 2 unfolds, he is threatened with death along with his three friends.

First, he inquires when Arioch, the commander sent to kill them, what is going on and why.  When he receives the answer, that the king wants to be told what his dream is and the meaning of it, Daniel turns to God.  Daniel knew from experience that with God nothing is impossible.  Daniel also understood that impossible situations are designed by God to reveal to us and the world God’s nature and power.

After Daniel receives the answer from God he prays, “Praise the name of God forever and ever. For he alone has all wisdom and power.  He determines the course of world events; he removes kings and sets others on the throne.  He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.  He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he himself is surrounded by light,  I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors for you have given me wisdom and strength.  You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”

As world and national events unfold, we would be wise to learn from Daniel and do likewise.