Daniel 2:1-18 The king said to them, “I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.” Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.” Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Do you see the differences between Daniel and his friends and the Chaldeans? Do you see the discernment and wisdom displayed by my son, Daniel? The Chaldeans were charlatans. They “told the future” and “interpreted dreams and visions”. But on what basis? With information from their gods? Or did they just make up whatever they felt was the best thing to say to the king to garner his favor? They functioned based upon emotion. They were motivated by power and position. They would say anything in order to save themselves, promote themselves, keep the king happy. Had the king told them his dream, they would have been quick to give an interpretation that made the king look favorable, that would have given him a sense of power and protection and safety. Yet, without the details of the dream, they were lost. They had no real power to divine anything. They could not access the dream. They could not utter any prophecy without the information the king was withholding. So, in essence, they were charlatans. And this instance demonstrated that fact to the king. So, in his emotional response to not getting his way, he demands that all “wise men” be destroyed. That includes Daniel and his friends, even though they had nothing to do with this exchange. Now, note Daniel’s response to the news that he and his three friends were slated for an agonizing death. Did he despair? No. Did he overreact? No. Did he act at all emotionally? No. We are told he replied with “discretion and discernment”. How could he remain so calm? How could he not fall on his face and beg for mercy? Because my son Daniel knew the One True God – Me. He knew that his salvation, his safety, his future – all were based upon his relationship with Me. So he sought Me. And I gave him the right words to say that would allow him to seek My counsel, seek information only I could give, seek the way to approach the king with that information and save them all. You are being controlled by evil forces that do not speak truth, do not know Truth. You are faced daily with situations that are unjust; you are confronted with constant lies and half-truths. It is human nature to become angry, to react emotionally – fear, depression, anger, irritation, anxiety. Do not. Turn to Me. I will guide you. I will help you control your emotions instead of your emotions controlling you. You live in a world where your enemy is almost completely emotion-based. Everything is about “feelings”. Do not enter that world. Do not allow yourself to engage in that world. Does that mean do not have emotions? No, Child. I gave you emotions. They help you to understand right from wrong. They can help you determine what issues are worth fighting for, and what is necessary to fight against. I am saying, turn those emotions over to me immediately, that I may keep you from living in them. It is one thing to be guided by emotional responses after prayer and thoughtful determination of what is good and true. It is another to live in those emotions, to allow them to permeate your being, to allow them to determine the quality and direction of your life at all times. That is not what you are to do. So, Child, pay attention. What are your feelings? What are the facts? What is really motivating you? And is it the correct motivation? Have you sought My counsel in the issue at hand? Give it all to me, all the time, and allow me to guide you. Stay above the fray, and under My wings.
Amanuensis 