Discovering Destiny (Part 73): God Can Change Your Situation Overnight
Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future. Yesterday, Daniel and his friends asked the God of heaven for mercy. Today, we see what God did in the night.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Peter 3:18 GNT
"But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever."
Luke 10:20 Mirror
"It's time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven's perspective."
1 John 3:10 Mirror
"There is a very visible and vast difference between living one's life from your God identity or from a fallen man's mindset."
Proverbs 25:2 NKJV
"It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter."
Jeremiah 29:13 NIV
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Scripture(s) we will study today:
Daniel 2:19 NLT
"That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven."
Daniel 2:20-23 ERV
"He said, 'Praise God's name forever and ever! Power and wisdom belong to him. He changes the times and seasons. He gives power to kings, and he takes their power away. He gives wisdom to people, so they become wise. He lets people learn things and become wise. He knows hidden secrets that are hard to understand. Light lives with him, so he knows what is in the dark and secret places. God of my ancestors, I thank you and praise you. You gave me wisdom and power. You told us what we asked for. You told us about the king's dream.'"
Supporting scriptures:
Psalm 121:4 NLT
"Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps."
Psalm 127:2 TPT
"It really is senseless to work so hard from early morning till late at night, toiling to make a living for fear of not having enough. God can provide for his devoted lovers even while they sleep!"
Psalm 30:5 NLT
"For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning."
Jeremiah 33:3 AMPC
"Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know (do not distinguish and recognize, have knowledge of and understand)."
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NLT
"That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.' But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets."
Mark 11:24 NLT
"I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours."
Psalm 100:4 NLT
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise. Give thanks to him and praise his name."
Isaiah 60:22 AMPC
"The least one shall become a thousand [a clan], and the small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its [appointed] time."
Setting the Stage:
Yesterday, Arioch showed up at Daniel's door with orders to kill. Daniel answered with wisdom, went straight to the king, and asked for time. Then he went home and called Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Four young men sat in a house in Babylon and asked the God of heaven for mercy. Outside that house, the king's decree was still in force. The executioners were still waiting. Nothing in the natural had changed.
Now picture that night. No dream in Daniel's hand. No interpretation. No backup plan. Babylon's best experts had already told the king that no man on earth could do what he was asking. If God did not show up, they were as good as dead. Daniel could have spent that night pacing the floor and rehearsing the worst. Instead, he gave it to God.
And God showed up. The Bible says, "That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision." The thing nobody in Babylon could find out, God showed Daniel in one night. And what did Daniel do first? He did not run to the palace. He did not go find Arioch. He worshiped. "Praise God's name forever and ever! Power and wisdom belong to him. He changes the times and seasons." Then he said, "You told us what we asked for."
The night Daniel thought might be his last became the night that changed everything. He went into the night under a death sentence, and he came out of it with the answer. Here is what I want you to see today. God can change your situation overnight. He works while you sleep. He reveals what you could never figure out. He deserves your praise before the answer shows up. And He alone can change your times and seasons.
So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Rest In God While He Works On Your Answer.
Daniel did not get the answer by pacing the floor all night trying to figure it out. He got the answer because God was working at night. Daniel and his friends had prayed and put it in God's hands. The executioners were waiting, but the God who never sleeps went to work. That is the difference between performance and grace. Performance-based religion says, "Try harder." Grace says, "Rest in Me." A worrier takes the problem to bed. A believer casts the problem on God and rests. Peter said, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." And the Psalmist said, "Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps." If God is going to be up all night anyway, there's no reason for both of you to stay up.
How this applies to you:
-- Daniel went into the night with a death sentence over his head, and he came out of it with the answer. One night changed his entire situation around.
-- Performance-based religion says, "Try harder, pray longer, do more." Grace says, "Rest in Me. I've got this."
-- Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest." He did not say, "Come to me and work harder."
-- Casting your cares is not giving up; it is an act of faith. You hand Him the weight, and you trust Him to carry it.
-- Some of you have been carrying your problem to bed every night. You lie there rehearsing it, replaying it, and running every scenario. The Bible calls that vain because you're making it all about you. You must learn to let God do what only He can do. Give it to God and go to sleep, because He is still on the job.
-- God does not get tired, and He does not take a day off. He was working on your situation before you ever knew you had one.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and He does some of His best work in the night.
-- Psalm 127 in The Passion Translation says, "God can provide for his devoted lovers even while they sleep!" You do not have to strain for what grace has already provided. Enter into God’s rest.
-- Your night may feel long, but it does not get the last word. Joy comes with the morning.
-- Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he's asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens." The farmer does not have to stay up and watch it. He does not even have to understand how it works. Whether he is awake or asleep, the seed is always working. That’s how it is with God.
2. Revelation Will Take You Further Than Education Ever Could.
Daniel had the best education Babylon could offer. Three years in the king's school. He was already 10 times better than all the magicians and astrologers in the kingdom. But here is the key. Education did not give Daniel the dream. Revelation did. The wise men of Babylon had the libraries, the training, and the titles, and they still came up empty. Daniel got in one night, by revelation, what they could not get in a lifetime of learning. And notice what Daniel said: "He knows hidden secrets that are hard to understand. Light lives with him."
How this applies to you:
-- Daniel's education got him into the king's school, but revelation saved his life.
-- What you could never figure out, God can show you in a moment.
-- God has answers the natural mind cannot reach. Paul said, "But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit." What you cannot figure out, God can reveal to you in a moment.
-- Revelation is not earned; it is received.
-- Jeremiah said, "Call to Me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things, fenced in and hidden, which you do not know." Some answers are fenced in from the natural mind and wide open to the praying heart.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and by His Spirit, He shows you the details as you walk it out.
-- The same Spirit who showed Daniel the dream lives in you. You are not limited to what you know.
-- Stop trying to figure it all out on your own. One word from God can do more in a moment than your labor can do in a lifetime.
3. Praise God Before The Answer Shows Up (Pre-Performance Praise).
Watch what Daniel did as soon as he saw the vision. He did not run to the palace. He did not go knock on Arioch's door. He praised. "Praise God's name forever and ever! Power and wisdom belong to him." Here is what I love about it. Daniel had the answer in his spirit, but nothing had changed in the natural yet. The decree was still in force. The king had not heard a word. Daniel's life was still on the line. He praised God anyway. He said, "I thank you and praise you... You told us what we asked for." I call this pre-performance praise. You thank God before you see it, because you believe it is already done. Jesus said, "If you believe that you've received it, it will be yours" (Mark 11:24 NLT).
How this applies to you:
-- Daniel's first move after the vision was not the palace; it was praise.
-- The answer was in Daniel's heart, but it had not shown up in the palace yet. He thanked God before anybody else knew.
-- I'm calling this pre-performance praise because God revealed it to him, but Daniel still had not verified that what he heard from God was what the king was dealing with. Sometimes we hear something, but we didn't hear it right. Daniel, however, was so confident that he gave God praise as if it was already done.
-- Anybody can give God post-performance praise. Even the heathen can say thank you after the blessing shows up. But when you walk with God by faith, you give Him praise in advance, before your full confirmation, believing that it is already done.
-- God planned your destiny before you were born. Faith is how you agree with what God revealed. But praise is an expression of how confident you are in what you heard. If you are truly confident, you will praise God like it's already done.
-- The Psalmist said, "Enter his gates with thanksgiving; go into his courts with praise." Daniel was about to walk into the king's court, but first he walked through God's gates with thanksgiving.
-- Don't wait until you see it to say thank you. Don't wait until you get the full confirmation (in the natural). Thank Him now, because that praise is an expression of your confidence (faith).
4. Only God Can Change Your Times And Seasons.
Daniel said, "He changes the times and seasons. He gives power to kings, and he takes their power away." Think about who Daniel was talking about. The king who signed his death warrant was sitting on a throne that God gave him. Nebuchadnezzar thought he controlled Daniel's future. He did not. Daniel needed an answer fast, and God gave it to him the same night he prayed. We live our lives in periods of time, and each period has a cycle of seasons. We serve a God who can shift the times and seasons of your life in such a way that He expedites your breakthrough and puts a rush order on your blessing. Isaiah said, "I, the Lord, will hasten it in its [appointed] time."
How this applies to you:
-- Daniel needed an answer fast, and God gave it to him the same night he prayed.
-- The king who signed the decree did not have the final word over Daniel's life. Daniel said, "He gives power to kings, and he takes their power away." Daniel was basically saying, "The king has power, but my God is the King of Kings, and my God is the Lord of Lords, so my confidence is in Him."
-- God planned your destiny before you were born, and no earthly authority gets the final say over it. Your boss may have power, but not the type of power that your God has over you
-- When the appointed time comes, God can move faster than you ever imagined. He puts a rush order on your blessing.
-- Habakkuk said, "Though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry." It may look like your vision is running late, but it is not. The Hebrew word for "hasten" in that verse means to pant, and the New English Bible says when the vision comes, "it will come in breathless haste." What looks slow in the waiting comes fast in the arriving.
-- Some of you have been in the same season so long that you think it will never change. It can change overnight.
-- What took you years to build up, God can turn around in one night.
That's enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, You never slumber and You never sleep!
You are working on my situation even while I sleep!
I give You my cares, and I rest in Your grace!
Your Spirit shows me what I could never figure out on my own!
Revelation takes me further than education ever could!
I praise You before the answer shows up!
I thank You now, because I believe it is already done!
You change the times and the seasons of my life!
You can change my situation overnight!
In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus' name. Amen!
This is Today's Word. Apply it and prosper!
Comments