Daily Discovery 29th April 2020 Devotional – Don’t Panic
TODAY’S TOPIC: DON’T PANIC!
Opening Prayer: Savior, be my peace.
Read Daniel 2:1–23
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.
2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers[a] to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king,
3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.[b]”
4 Then the astrologers answered the king,[c] “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
5 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.
6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
Daily Discovery 29th April 2020 Devotional
7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided:
9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”
10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.
11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.” Daily Discovery 29th April 2020 Devotional
12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.
13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.
15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.
16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
18 He urged them to 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.
19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Footnotes:
a Daniel 2:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 4, 5 and 10
b Daniel 2:3 Or was
c Daniel 2:4 At this point the Hebrew text has in Aramaic, indicating that the text from here through the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect: Daily Discovery 29th April 2020 Devotional
Have you ever been in a real, blind panic? How did you react?
We saw a hint of it yesterday, but today we start to see how powerful, arrogant and terrifying Nebuchadnezzar was. Suspicious of his magicians, he demanded, “If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces” (5).
Picture the scene: if this were a TV show it would open with outright panic in the court—people wailing and running about, wide-eyed astrologers desperately looking for the answer to an impossible question…
And there, quietly working, we see Daniel. He alone did not panic, even when the executioner turned up to put him to death (14). How might you have responded?
Is there a situation in your church where, instead of escalating the panic, you can diffuse it by being a “non-anxious presence” like Daniel? Your church leader will thank you for it if you can!
Daniel: 1) stayed calm, 2) discerned the reality, 3) involved his friends, 4) prayed (pleaded!) for mercy, and then 5) praised God—notice, before he knew what the outcome would be. This was Daniel’s way of dealing with panic—what’s yours?
Apply (Today’s Daily Discovery 29th April 2020 Devotional)
Bring to mind a situation that makes you panic or feel anxious. How can Daniel’s five steps help you? Who are the friends you can pray with?
Closing prayer: O Lord, I choose to trust You instead of allowing my reaction to my situations to control me. Give me peace from Your Spirit.
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