Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 44 “Everyone agrees.” Read Daniel 6:6-9. It’s always dangerous to start out a phrase with, “everyone agrees,” especially if everyone is not present. These leaders were trying to frame Daniel. They didn’t want Daniel to be in the position of power that he was in and as a result, they were trying to concoct a way to discredit him. When they came to the king, they made the king believe that every single one of all of these advisers all felt the same way. Daniel was one of those people. Daniel would have been included in that list of people and obviously they had not…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 43 Upright character. Read Daniel 6:1-5. A new king is on the scene. As we closed out chapter 5, we saw that the previous king had been killed, and a new king from a new kingdom is now in control. This new king has recognized the leadership that Daniel brings to his position, and he has given Daniel an opportunity to be in charge of several areas. God continues to bless Daniel, and people are noticing it. The king recognizes that anything he gives to Daniel will be blessed, so he starts to give Daniel more and more responsibility. However, others don’t like that very…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 42 The fulfillment. Read Daniel 5:30-31. God didn’t waste any time in moving forward with the judgment that he had shared. Less than a day passed before God made good on the result of the judgment of the king. The king is killed. Another king and kingdom take its place. Understanding the timing of God’s judgment can be confusing. There are times where we see people do horrible things and life continues on for years. Other times, we see difficult circumstances and challenging situations occur to people who seemed to be doing well. God sees all situations and God knows the heart of every individual.…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 41 The results. Read Daniel 5:29. Daniel gave the king the message from the Lord. It wasn’t a happy message. It wasn’t something the king would get excited about. So what were the results of this message? The king gave Daniel the rewards that he promised. Daniel was given honors and accolades forecast for interpreting the message from the Lord. It’s interesting to note that there was one result that was missing. The king did not repent. Previously, when Daniel had brought these kinds of messages to King Nebuchadnezzar, the king would repent and would acknowledge the Lord. In this case, this king did not…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 40 Truth. Read Daniel 5:25-28. Telling the truth is not always as easy as it sounds. In fact, there are many times when it would have been so much easier to have either omitted the truth or just told somebody what they wanted to hear instead of the truth. Daniel faced this circumstance. The message he was giving to the King was not a good message. The king was not going to enjoy hearing this, and yet, Daniel walked through piece by piece explaining the message that God had given the king. This king’s rule was going to end. His kingdom was going to be…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 39 Therefore… Read Daniel 5:23-24. The way the English language is set up, anytime you see the word, “therefore,” you should always double check the information that was listed before it. All that information is tremendously relevant to whatever is going to come after the “therefore.” That information is the reason behind the word. When you look at these two verses, we see a huge list in verse 23 of all the things that the king was doing wrong. All of the sins that he was committing were listed out. Daniel explains that because of all of these sins, that is why God brought this…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 38 The history lesson. Read Daniel 5:18-22. There’s a saying that those who don’t know or study history are doomed to repeat it. This is a very appropriate saying for today’s reading. Daniel has to give the king a history lesson. We were just reading about this in Daniel chapter 4, so the lesson is very fresh for us, however, apparently the king’s son didn’t remember it. Now that the son is king, he’s doing all the things that his father was doing before God humbled him. Daniel doesn’t start off by reading the message from God. Instead, Daniel starts off by reminding the king…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 37 No reward. Read Daniel 5:17. The idea of giving someone a reward for doing what we want them to do is a pretty popular idea. We see often that people are willing to say “thank you” in a more tangible way by giving gifts or favors. Here the king was trying to do the same thing with Daniel. The king wanted the message interpreted, so he was promising gifts and favors to anyone who would be able to do it. Daniel knew that through God, he would be able to interpret the message that God had given the king. But, he didn’t want even…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 36 Résumé filler. Read Daniel 5:13-16. I work with several high school-age students in a number of different areas. In a conversation I was having with one of them recently, the topic of resume fillers came up. This young person was discussing how so many of his peers join or are part of organizations solely so they can put them on their resume to make them more desirable for scholarships or college applications. These people don’t really do anything with the organization or make a difference, they just want to be able to say they were part of it. This got me thinking about what…

Leading Through Challenging Circumstances, Day 35 What is your reputation? Read Daniel 5:10-12. I’ve heard it said that you don’t get to create your reputation, you simply influence it. Reputation is what other people think about you. When your name comes up in conversations, what’s the impression of the people who hear it? What have they heard about you? What have they experienced regarding you? All of these factors come together to build your reputation. Even though this new King didn’t seem to know much of what his father had gone through or experienced, the Queen did. The Queen knew Daniel by reputation. She understood what he had been able…