Daniel’s rise to power within Babylon began with a dream.  Old King Neb had the dream, he refused to tell anyone the dream, then he demanded someone tell him what the dream meant.  Enter Daniel. We know the story-the statue, the prophesy, the kingdoms.  But this is what I love about the Bible, and the Old Testament in particular:  it’s always new.  This old story many of us have heard so many times and somehow, with the enlightenment of a living Spirit, it’s all new. 

Daniel and his friends-lives hanging in the balance-what do they do?  First, I could wax philosophic about their friendship and the fact that they shared a home and a faith.  When all seemed dire, Daniel runs home to his buddies and urges them to join him in seeking the Lord.  Beautiful picture of life in the Body of Christ.

But then comes the twist. 

During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.

                                                                Daniel 2:19

I looked into that word vision.  In Job 33:15, the same original word is used and here’s what it says,

In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds…                                             Job 33:15

That verse certainly makes you think that this ‘vision’ appears to Daniel while he’s in bed not just attempting sleep but slumbering. 

One more verse:

So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

                                                                Daniel 2:13

This verse is just five verses before we read that Daniel is zonked out in bed. 

When your life hangs in the balance, how easy might you find it to be to get in the bed and conk out?

This is what faith looks like.  It’s what appropriately placed fear looks like.  It’s what real peace can do.  I believe Daniel was able to leave the problem with the Lord, trusting Him to work even when Daniel really wasn’t, because he knew his God to be so good at handling problems that all he really needed to do was rest in His ability to take care of it.  He had a clear conscience before the Lord and an abiding faith in God’s ability to handle his problems even as he slept. 

God doesn’t need for us to work harder.  He doesn’t need for us to pack in a few more hours or steal His Sabbaths in order to accomplish what really needs to be done.  He needs for us to trust Him so implicitly that even as the executioner awaits, we can sleep peacefully in the palm of His capable hand. 

What keeps you up at night?  What fear, what need, what burden is stealing your night’s peaceful slumber?  God can handle even death at the door if we’ll surrender and let Him do it.