THE HANDLING OF A CRISIS " . . . that he would give him time . . . " -- Tomorrow:
"And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty 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. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon." (Daniel 2:13-18)
Devotion 12 of 28
Daniel asks the king "for time" (NIV) – time to obtain what the king wanted, the interpretation of his dream. In so doing, from an earthly point of view, he is actually testing the patience of the king. The wise men who were the cause the edict being carried out by Arioch had, in a sense, asked for time also. They twice asked Nebuchadnezzar to tell them his dream (2:4,7). The king said they with "trying to gain time" (2:8), and charged them with speaking "lying and corrupt words" (2:9). From the lower, or fleshly, perspective, Daniel has no reason to believe he will be treated with any more consideration. However, Daniel is living by faith, not by sight, and therefore he does not reason as other men. Faith moves us into a different kind of thinking – a different manner of reasoning. The person who is trusting the Lord considers a matter with God at the center of his thought. Faith does not reckon on what men may do, but upon what the Lord will do.
Therefore, Daniel is not thinking of how the king has treated others. He is pondering presenting the cause to the Lord, and obtaining wisdom from Him, with whom he really has to do. Faith sees the circumstance differently than flesh, and therefore proceeds down the path of trust. When flesh asks for time, it is wrong! When faith asks for it, it is right! Blessed is the person who can distinguish between the two.
Those who are fond of citing statistical surveys, polls, historical trends, and the likes, cannot even think like Daniel. These are men of the world, not of faith, and thus they rely upon earthly assessments instead of the reasoning of faith. Imagine Daniel pondering the statistical probability of the king giving him time. Those who bark to the people of God about what men and women are prone to do, or what children under six will do, or the probable manner of the conduct and demands of various generations only betray their lack of faith. They are not walking by faith, and thus they trust in the flesh. Such people should be excluded from all places of leadership and the giving of advice within the church. There is no place for such nonsense within the body of Christ.
Note that Daniel asked for HIMSELF to be given time, not all four ("Daniel and his fellows"). While all four of the young men had been given "knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom," it was Daniel who "had understanding in all visions and dreams" (1:17). He would consort with the others, who were also men of faith, but in the end, he knew HE was the one who would have to give the answer the king demanded. Knowing his position in the Divine economy, he did not seek for someone else to meet the need that was suited for his revealed ministry. Also, because he did not have the answer at his fingertips, he did not conclude it was not the Lord's will for him to receive it. He needed time – time to seek the Lord – and therefore that is what he sought.
Daniel would not use his time to study books about dreams. He would not use it to inquire of other wise men how they went about interpreting dreams. We will see the time was requested in order to seek the Lord for an answer to the challenge before him. He did not request for time to study. Neither did Daniel make an effort to obtain information about the dream from the king, for the king could not even remember what he dreamed. Part of the assignment was to discover what the king dreamed as well as its meaning. The whole situation was excellently tailored for faith.
It is still true that each person operates within certain Divinely appointed boundaries. God has not called all men to do the same thing, and everyone in the body of Christ does not have an identical ministry. As it is written, "If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members EVERY ONE OF THEM in the body, as it hath pleased Him" (1 Cor 12:17-18).
There are certain ministries that are to be carried out by certain people – like Daniel interpreting the king's dream, or Paul being the Apostle to the Gentiles. Other brethren may assist them in this ministry, but in the end, they themselves must carry it out. They must seek grace to assist them in their work. They must work out their own salvation in the unique ministries to which they have been appointed. No member of the body of Christ has been placed in a ministry in which he can function without resorting to the Lord. The very nature of salvation forbids such a circumstance. That fact is inherent in this text.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to associate both need and crisis with You and Your will.