Daniel 6

This morning, I got completely lost in Daniel chapter 6. From the first verse onward, I felt like writing a paragraph in my journal for every sentence I read.

(Random, but related, interjection: This thought just came to me: maybe that’s why books like Calvins’s Institutes and Aquinas’ Summa Thelogica are so long. It takes a mammoth quantity of uninspired words to equal the inspired ones. You know, like a pound of feathers takes up far more space than a pound of steel. Our words are feathers; God’s words are titanium. Ha! That isn’t strictly true, but I still feel like Archimedes after his experiment with mass and displacement. Eureka!)

Anyway, back to Daniel.

The scope of what Daniel accomplished during his life is beyond what I can rationalize. It honestly seems impossible (and thus is a testament to God’s unmatchable power, of course). The first thing that shocks me is the fact that Daniel occupied positions that gave him power and influence under four different rulers: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus. Considering that Darius killed Belshazzar when the Medes conquered the Chaldeans, Daniel’s survival and prosperity is even more surprising. How many men manage to achieve that kind of success? Few. How many honest men do? Fewer still. Sir Thomas More, also a wise, clever, and honest man, couldn’t even weather the vicissitudes that occurred during the reign of one king (King Henry VIII). Daniel, though he openly defied some of the most powerful men in the world, remained on top.

To compound an already unbelievable story, Daniel’s enemies couldn’t find a single deed in his entire personal and political record with which to reproach him. That’s completely different from being generally honest and trustworthy. It means no cutting corners, no bending rules, no rebellion against laws you don’t like. Daniel was blameless in a foreign land, despite an alien and sometimes repulsive culture. Not only that, Daniel was effective. How did he become the most respected civil servant in the kingdom without engaging in something disreputable? It’s more than my mind can understand.

I can’t get over how unbelievably encouraging all of this is. The sheer complexity of life can sometimes be awfully depressing. Politicians and diplomats, for example, have to make decisions and engage in negotiations that determine the fates of millions. There are so many competing concerns to weigh, so many impossible muddled conflicts and intentional deception. No matter how many good intentions, you can’t help but wonder if it’s impossible to make a right decision.

What this story shows is that, in the words of Elizabeth Elliot, “It is always possible to do the will of God. In every place and time it is within our power to acquiesce the will of God.” God always makes a way. How many times must it have seemed like there was no right answer to the problems Daniel faced? Not just the lions’ den-type problems, but the budget balancing and international relations problems the Bible doesn’t even mention. Somehow, God made it possible for Daniel to navigate every political mess he encountered and emerge from it with an enhanced reputation and spotless personal record. This cannot happen without the power of God, with his power, nothing is more natural.

If God could make his will clear to Daniel, he can make it clear to me, too. No person, problem, or conflict can prevent me from being capable of obedience. There’s absolutely no danger that there will be a time when there is no right decision for me to make. There’s no Gordian Knot God can’t guide my hands to untie, if he so chooses. The reality of God’s power means it is always possible to do his will.

This is highly motivating. If God gives me a challenge, I can do it! (Well, to be technically correct, he can enable me to do it.) There are no Catch-22's in God's kingdom. The impossible is suddenly deliciously attainable. Failure, like death, is dead.