July 21st - Daniel 4:27

Daniel 4:27 [Daniel said:] “King Nebuchadnezzar, please accept my advice. Stop sinning and do what is right. Break from your wicked past and be merciful to the poor. Perhaps then you will continue to prosper.” Daniel was an incredibly courageous person. He was talking to one of the most powerful people who had ever walked this earth and giving him some staggeringly bad news. He was telling King Nebuchadnezzar the meaning of his dream: he was going to be driven away from human society and would live with wild animals where he would eat grass like a cow (Daniel 4:25). This isn’t the sort of message you would want to deliver to a powerful despot who was inclined to kill his opponents at a moment’s notice! Daniel informed the king that his life would only improve when he had learned his lesson. This was an incredibly tough message, but Daniel knew he had to be faithful to God and tell the king the truth. The result was amazing. Nebuchadnezzar suffered in all the ways that were prophesied and ended up praising God and concluding: “All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud” (Daniel 4:37). Telling people the truth when it is encouraging and positive is one thing, but to tell them the truth when it is the last thing that they would ever want to hear is another. The Bible introduces us to many people who were willing to do the latter. When Isaiah was called by God, he was informed that people would reject what he had to say. At the time of Jeremiah’s message of judgement, there were others who were declaring messages of peace, which the people loved to hear. Jeremiah was hated for speaking the uncomfortable words of truth, but he knew that he had to be faithful to his calling, however tough it might be. In Jesus, we see someone who resolutely spoke out the word of God even when he was hated and then killed because of it. We all need to ask God for courage so that we will speak truthfully to those around us, even when we make ourselves unpopular by doing so. Question When have you had to speak out God’s truth in a way that made you unpopular? Prayer Lord God, grant me so much love for people that I will be willing to share your truth. Amen