God Is Everything: Daniel 2:19-24
God deserves the honor and glory and praise because His works are magnificent and everlasting. There are days I sit in awe at God and His being. From the moment He spoke the universe into being, He knew how it would end. He knew creation would fall, but He knew He would send His Son to fix the brokenness. He knew all the people of faith who play their part and walk through the doors He opens. He knows how it will end. He knows what life will be like when we are with Him eternally. He is magnificent.
Daniel receives the dream and the interpretation of the dream in a vision from God. God set up this entire encounter; He certainly doesn’t need to wait for anything to happen. God wants to reveal himself to His people and to the Babylonians, so once Daniel makes his move God fulfills his need for information.
This is the great thing about following God. When we are humble and wait for God to open doors for us, God’s ready to move. He opens a door so that we can step into it. He opens a door so we can move with Him into the next stage. God provoked Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar opened himself up to receive, and Daniel step in.
Contrast this with how often we wrestle with opportunities of our own making. We worry our timing is wrong. We worry we are doing the wrong thing or saying the wrong thing. Sometimes we put the responsibility upon God to stop us if He doesn’t want us acting a certain way. When we create our own opportunities, we are frequently unsure about how to move forward.
Once Daniel has received the dream and the interpretation, he praises God. Look at what Daniel ascribes to God. God moves the seasons and changes the time because God is in control over the creation. God removes kings and sets up kings, an incredibly significant praise as Babylon conquered the Hebrew people only a short time before this story. God is the source of wisdom and understanding, a praise stemming from this moment in Daniel’s own life. God reveals what is in the darkness and He is the source of light.
At the end of his praise, Daniel remembers his place. God is the God of his fathers. God was around before Daniel and God will be around when Daniel is gone. God is the everlasting one. Our life on this planet is limited; God’s presence on this planet is sure until this age passes.
In the end, God is what matters. He brought His people into exile. He saves Daniel. He will release His people from exile. He will provide salvation for all. He makes relationship with Him possible. God deserves the honor and glory and praise because His works are magnificent and everlasting.
