When I Am Faced With A Trial

When I Am Faced With a Trial

“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.” Daniel 2:20-23

Intro: The story of Daniel in the bible starts out with him a 15 year-old boy.

He has been captured and taken prisoner into a foreign land.

The Babylonian Empire was the number one power in the world at that time.

Jump forward in time: Seventy years later Daniel has earned favor with the King Nebuchadnezzar.

But it did not start out that way.

Daniel had to face many trials in his life.

In today’s text he is faced with a trial that would result in either life or death.

One night Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream.

He called in his magicians…, enchanters…, sorcerers…, and astrologers,

and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed.

As the astrologers stood before their king they answered him,

“Tell us your dream, and we will tell you what it means.”

But the king saw through their cleverness and said “I am serious about this.

If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means,

I will destroy you and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!

But if you tell me what I dreamed and what my dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors.

The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream!

And no King has ever asked such a thing of any of magician, enchanter, or astrologer!

They said, the king demands the impossible.

No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among us.

The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed.

Daniel was considered to be among the wise men in the land.

And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.

Today I want to talk to you about what I do “When I Am Faced With a Trial.”

I. Start with Praise

That’s number one.

Don’t be afraid.

Don’t sink into despair.

Don’t leap into desperation.

Instead of panic. Start with praise.

Daniel had a real reason to panic.

The King was going to find and kill all the wise men of Babylon.

If the government sent out someone to kill you…, that might be cause to be afraid.

But the Bible says Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and good judgment.

Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard told Daniel everything that had happened.

Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.

This is an amazing young man.

Here is the most powerful kingdom on the planet has ordered his assassination.

The army shows up to kill him

and he handles the situation with wisdom and good judgment.

That really is incredible for a young teenager.

We can learn lot by looking at the way we handle our fears, frustrations, and trials.

We live in a fast paced world.

Constantly on our cell phones. Standing in line. Driving to or from school or work.

We almost never have a quiet time. We are seldom still. Unless we are completely exhausted.

Who among us has the wisdom and self –restraint to think before we react?

Oh, God of wisdom teach us to reflect your nature.

When Daniel was faced with a trial his answer was:

““Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.

Most often people praise when something really good has happened.

When we are full we are more likely to praise

When we are employed we are more likely to praise

When we are exalted we are more likely to praise

I love the Wesleyan Covenant Pray.

Put me to doing, put me to suffering

Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee

Exalted for thee or brought low by thee

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing

We can’t wait till we are full to praise

We can’t wait till we are employed to praise

We can’t wait till we are exalted to praise