Daniel 2

“Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation. Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, urging them to ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men. The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven…” Daniel 2:14-19 (HCSB)

In the business management world, there is a saying: Maximize your strengths and manage your weaknesses. Good leaders understand they can’t do everything, and they know the importance of having a good team. They know how to delegate tasks outside their strengths so they don’t find themselves bogged down doing things they aren’t good at. From this, we can reason that the purpose of community is to make our weaknesses ineffective. That is, in a healthy community, we only have to operate on our strengths because someone else’s strength is covering our weaknesses.

“Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Ecclesiastes 4:12 (HCSB)

We learned yesterday that Daniel was skilled in interpreting dreams and visions. This ability was a gift from the Lord, but Daniel was not about to take the Lord’s blessings for granted. Knowing that lives were at stake, Daniel rallied his three friends and enlisted them to pray on his behalf. Daniel was not a lone ranger. He did not simply rely on his “giftedness”; he understood the importance of a strong spiritual community and the power of prayer. Daniel knew the problem needed a level of discernment that could only be reached by the counsel of God-seeking men.

Today’s passage is also a challenge to us. Do you attempt to face life’s trials alone, perhaps too afraid to share your weaknesses with others? Or do you lean into the community of believers the Lord has given you? Because of Daniel’s willingness to share his situation with other strong believers, the Lord gave him an insight into the humanly impossible. Remember: We may not know what the future holds, but we know Who holds the future. Daniel sought the Lord, and the unseeable was revealed.