After the News
Scripture:
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plea before his God. – Daniel 6:10–11
Think:
There is a moment after difficult news when your mind starts moving faster than the conversation.
The doctor is still talking, but you are already imagining what this could mean. Your boss says there are going to be changes, and you start calculating how long the savings would last. Someone you love says, “We need to talk,” and suddenly you can hear your own heartbeat.
You may look calm. Inside, you have traveled six months into a future that hasn’t happened.
Then you go home.
The mail is still on the counter. There are clothes in the dryer. Someone asks what’s for dinner, and you wonder how everything can look so ordinary when you feel so unsettled.
Daniel went home after receiving frightening news, too.
A decree had been signed forbidding prayer to anyone except the king for thirty days. The punishment was the lions’ den. Daniel knew about the decree before he went upstairs, knelt, and prayed.
And Scripture specifically tells us that he gave thanks.
I would understand if the verse said he pleaded for protection. Verse 11 does describe him asking God for help. But there, alongside his need, was thanksgiving.
He still had reasons to thank God.
That is something fear makes it difficult to remember. It can take one threatening possibility and fill our entire field of vision with it. We begin speaking about our lives as though the thing we fear has already happened and every kindness we have received belongs to another lifetime.
But the news Daniel received did not erase his history with God.
He had been sustained through exile. He had received wisdom for impossible situations. He had witnessed God’s power and experienced His care. Now, with a new threat before him, he continued the practice of turning toward God.
We aren’t told the words of his thanksgiving. We are told he had done this before.
That makes me consider what I want to practice on the ordinary days—what I want my heart to remember when I am too frightened to think clearly.
“Father, You have been merciful to me.”
“Thank You for the people who have helped me.”
“Thank You that I can tell You how afraid I am.”
Giving thanks may come through tears. We may need to pause and begin again. But every specific thank-you helps us remember something true beyond the news we just received.
There is still a history of kindness. There is still access to God. There is still someone we can call and ask to sit beside us.
Daniel needed help, and he asked for it.
He also gave thanks.
We can bring both to God tonight.
Application:
What concern has been occupying most of your thoughts? Alongside your request for help, thank God for three specific ways you have experienced His care.
Prayer:
Father, You know what frightened me and how quickly my thoughts run ahead. Thank You for hearing me and for the care You have shown throughout my life. Help me remember Your kindness as I bring You this new concern. Amen.
