Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days (Daniel 2:27-28). 

The king answered Daniel and said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery" (Daniel 2:47).

Daniel gives all credit to the LORD. Keying off of this, after the miracle, the king gives the highest praise to God. 

When Daniel and his friends were enlisted into the king's service, they obeyed the king, but not at the cost of violating their principles. They did not eat the unclean foods given by the king. When Daniel's friends were threatened and then thrown into the fiery furnace, they did not compromise their faith and worship the false gods of Babylon. When Daniel and his friends faced death, along with all the wise men of Babylon that could not tell the king his dream, he prayed to God. And when the dream was revealed to Daniel, he gave all the glory to the LORD.

If there is one word to describe Daniel and his friends, it is the word FAITHFUL. They were faithful to the LORD. They trusted in His providence. They sought the LORD's favor in times of crisis. They obeyed Him whether He would deliver them or not. When given the opportunity to take credit or give praise, they always chose to give all the praise to God.

Friends, is this not also our calling? Are we not called to be faithful?

This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful (1 Corinthians 4:1-2).

Am I faithful to daily meditate on His Word (cf. Psalm 1:2), to study and rightly interpret it (cf. 2 Timothy 2:15), and to diligently teach it to my wife (cf. Ephesians 5:26) and children (cf. Ephesians 6:4; Deuteronomy 6:6-9)? Does my life demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit (cf. Galatians 5:22-23), the loving expressions of faith (cf. 2 Peter 1:5-9), particularly to fellow believers (cf. John 13:34-35; Matthew 25:31-46)? Am I being a witness for Christ and taking every opportunity to make disciples for Him (cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8)? And through all of this, am I holding fast to my hope in Christ (cf. Hebrews 10:23), refusing to be anxious about anything, while rejoicing in everything (Philippians 4:4-7)?

Today, I am reminded of what is truly important. It is not so important how my investments are doing. It is not so important how much "my time" I get. It is not so important when I can plan for the next fishing trip. It is not so important that I do any number of errands. BUT, it is truly important for me to be faithful!

Daniel 2
36 "This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38 and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all-you are the head of gold. 39 Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.

Daniel revealed this dream to the king. I have encountered an easy argument made by skeptics that such writings were made after the fact to organize a people, muster identity and hope. There are claims that even King David never really existed.

With every skeptical claim made, there is the illusion of support to their argument because of a lack in evidence. But that goes both ways. They are no more right than wrong in the facts and evidence; interestingly though, to continue the archaeological trends set by the bible, the bible is true, through and through.

By the way, thanks to a tablet proclaiming victory over 'the house of David' at Jerusalem, this claim that he never was fails - again.

Pushing that prophecies are rigged can be a possibility for some of the prophecies, after all there is no evidence for or against such things, but other prophecies can't be held to that category, most notably the prophecies of Jesus Christ. Even better the supposed people to conspire for this prophecy reject its very fruition. Then, when this most excellent event occurs it delivers another prophecy fulfilled in 70 AD.

The bible is full of satisfaction with its own prophecies. There is room to doubt, you can force any matter when truth is silent. But every once in a while truth leaves a crumb; these tiny crumbs crush the hordes speaking against it - how God like.

Interestingly, the enemy has no problem saying other cultures have psychics, fortune tellers, or oracles... Sure, why not distract from God, ‘you can worship these demons over there.’

A crumb has been left from this prophecy in Daniel 2. From wikipedia:

According to Babylonian tradition, towards the end of his life, Nebuchadnezzar prophesied the impending ruin of the Chaldean Empire (Berossus and Abydenus in Eusebius, Praeparatio Evangelica, 9.41).

Sure, but we'll leave silent that it took one of God's prophets to let him know what he had; the vision of his kingdom's fall.

Though I read them a hundred times, these stories never seem to get old. Once again this year, as I read about Daniel and his three friends, my heart swelled and my eyes watered as I marveled at how amazing our God is. What is more, I long for the bold and uncompromising faith of Daniel and his friends. As I read their stories, I am reminded of Revelation 12:11, where the apostle John gives the account of how the Tribulation saints would triumph over Satan:

They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

The common refrain in every work of wonder is that it is impossible, unheard of, and even out of the realm of the gods to do, "but there is a God in heaven..." (Daniel 2:28). There is a God in heaven that can bring glowing health even to those fed a starvation diet. There is a God in heaven that can not only interpret but also reveal the secret dreams of a great king.  There is a God in heaven that can protect his faithful servants from a fiery furnace, so that not even a single hair of their heads is singed, nor their robes scorched, nor is there any smell of fire on them. As King Nebuchadnezzar would confess, this God is the "God of gods and the Lord of kings" (Daniel 2:47).

Friends, we are all too easily distracted by the mundane. We are bitter over this or that criticism. Our hearts sink when we don't get the promotion we hoped to get. We are frustrated and angry when our spouse keeps doing the same thing we told them not to do.

To look at it another way, we move our families and change our whole lives around to make more money. We compromise principle for achievement in order to get more people on board to reach our goals. We pursue what "feels" right over what we know is right from Scripture.

When I think about the bold and uncompromising faith of Daniel and his friends, I am ashamed of my rather timid and lackluster faith. I need a daily reminder of the greatness of our God, not as a transcendant being that is unconcerned about the affairs of His creation, but as One who is unfolding His perfect work through times of signs and wonders as well as long periods of testing and divine detachment. 

While I love to read the glorious stories of Daniel and his friends, I know that their experience was not normative but exceptional. We get a glimpse of what was perhaps more common from passages like Hebrews 11:35-38,

There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground (Hebrews 11:35-38).

As exceptional as the stories in Daniel are, the lessons are universal. We are taught to live with a bold and uncompromsing faith that acknowledges the sovereignty of God. 

If we live THIS way, we have no reason for bitterness. We need not despair over a lost promotion. Fretting over our spouse is meaningless. We do not order our lives around money. We base our decisions on principle, regardless of the outcome. And we obey God's Word rather than follow our feelings. 

These stories from the Old Testament are just the beginning of the love God has for us.  These stories all respresent and point back to one person, Jesus Christ.  What an amazing experience for the three men to be walking in the furnace with our Lord. 

After reading the comments it reminds me of what Pastor Joseph Prince writes in his book, "Destined to Reign".  Even though we go through trials, serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and watch with frustration at times the succes of those who do not serve the Lord: we serve a God who has promised Jeremiah 29:11. (For I know what I have planned for you, says the Lord. I have plans to prosper you, not to harm you.  I have plans to give you a future filled with hope).  Our lives are like watching a parade, when you are watching a parade you can see the float in front of you and maybe if the crowd (circumstances) allow you to, you can see the float directly behind it.  However, you cannot see the float at the end.  The Lord is Alpha AND Omega, He can see the beginning, middle and the end of the parade (our lives).  HE created the parade and all we have to do is rest in His Grace (Jesus Christ) that He will and has already taken care of us.

So many times in my life I have/and am going through life's struggles; however the times I remember that HE has made me promises, HE is true to HIS Word, He will never leave me nor forsake me: those times life's struggles become the greatest times of peace.  My encouragement to you is to trust in His Grace (Jesus Christ) who gave it all so we could REST and WALK in the knowing that HE is Lord of Lord's, King of King's, and is true to His promises.

In His Grace,
Rebecca

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego survive one of the most miraculous events of the bible - being thrown in a fiery furnace that even the soldiers who threw them in were killed by.  Their statement of faith was backed up by God. 

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:16-18).

What's interesting is that in this statement of faith they qualify two things: (1) God can save them; (2) they understand that God won't necessarily save them.  Why wouldn't God save them?  Probably the same reason he allows babies to die, genocide and, in general, suffering.  "Even if God does not save them" is a perspective of knowing God in a way that puts his plans above ours.  The extreme case is even putting God's plans above our own life.  They were willing to die for their God.  Our natural tendency is to want results now.  This is why it seems God's timing often takes longer than ours.  God has something else in mind rather than our simple plans of immediate gratification without growth.  How can our muscles grow if we aren't exercising?  Same about faith.

When our prayers ask for things such as success, jobs, work, money, children, health, etc. are we doing so with a perspective that although these are good things in many cases, ultimately would we be just as content with not having them if it were God's will alone?  When we complain to God, are we doing so because we are not getting what we feel entitled to even as a Christian (i.e. The I've been faithful why aren't you blessing me prayer?)  Regardless of our circumstances we must press on toward a better understanding of wanting what God wants.  After all we are here for him and not the other way around.

Friends, don't you love this book and it's stories! Wasn't your heart stirred when Daniel and his friends obeyed God and abstained from the king's meat and yet were found to be healthier and stronger than all the others? And when the king was killing the wise men left and right, how God gave Daniel the king's dream and interpretation to stay the king's wrath and accord him great honor instead? And when the king decreed people worship him or be thrown into a fiery furnace, how Daniel's three friends remained faithful to God and were delivered from harm right in the midst of the fire?

Amazing and wonderful! But even more so are these words from Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:

If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up (Daniel 3:17-18).

The threat of a horrible death will not move them from being faithful to God. More than this, even the absence of deliverance will not change their mind about remaining faithful to God. Friends, there's a principle here that is also echoed even more strongly in the New Testament; namely, that we worship and obey God because He is God and not simply because of His benefits to us. Some have mistakenly transmitted the first lesson of the Westminster Catechism as "the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy His benefits," when it is really, "the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." John Piper extends the thought of this lesson further by writing, "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever.

In Psalm 73 Asaph the Chief Musician instructs believers who are frustrated with the prosperity and health of unbelievers while they themselves struggle and suffer. By personal testimony he shows in the Psalm how he himself had to understand that he must worship God because He is God and not just because God has been "good" to him. So he begins his psalm declaring "Surely God is good to Israel" (Psalm 73:1) but concludes with a more profoundly true declaration: "The nearness of God is my good" (Psalm 73:28).

So dear friends, let us not put our hope in the benefits we receive in this life. Even if our life is filled with hardship, suffering, and loss, let us consider that we are in good company, because all the great prophets, apostles and servants of the Lord in the Bible likewise suffered. Let us face every situation with the attitude of Asaph and declare, "the nearness of God is my good." Let us have the perspective of Daniel's three friends, such that whether we live or die, we will not cease to serve and worship only the Lord our God.