Learning to Trust God

Memory Verses from the Book of Daniel

According to an article I read recently, the key lesson from the book of Daniel is not “Dare to be a Daniel,” as important as that may be. The real lesson, the author says, is “Dare to trust in Daniel’s God.”

So, let’s think about some key verses that teach us the importance of trusting the God Daniel and his friends trusted.

• Daniel 1:8 – But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself in this way.

That might seem like an odd verse to pick out to memorize, but here’s the deal. God had given His people strict instructions about what they were and were not to eat. Some of those rules might seem a bit odd to us, but what you need to remember is that any time God says “Don’t do it” about something, it was to help His people, to keep them safe! 

Daniel set up a bit of an experiment with the officials, and as it turns out, the food they wanted him to eat was actually unhealthy! You can see the proof of that in verse 15 where we read, “At the end of the ten days they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food.” Now, the lesson here is NOT that you should eat only vegetables and water (verse 16). Rather, the lesson is, when God gives you an instruction, obey it. God will honor your obedience, which He did in this case by granting them good health.

• Daniel 1:17 – To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

I am somewhat addicted to unscripted true crime shows like “First 48 Hours.” Occasionally on that show someone, often a teenager, will commit some egregious crime—a robbery, assault, shooting a police officer, etc.,—and when caught they will say they were “putting in work for the hood.” In other words, they were trying to prove they would be good candidates to be part of some gang. 

Let’s relate that to Daniel’s situation. Notice that God gave them these special abilities not because they were “putting in the work,” but simply because of their unwavering obedience to God’s laws. Take a quick peek at 1 Samuel 15:22: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams.” Remember, the sacrifices were required, but the people’s obedience was what God truly desired. 

The key to being an effective member of God’s “gang” is simple: “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:25). In a word, obedience!

• Daniel 2:20-22 – Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning. He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

This is a powerful lesson we all should learn, and review frequently. When everything seems out of control, when it seems that everything in your life is going wrong, you would do well to remember that God is still in control. 

Look at Daniel 2 to see the circumstances under which Danial offers this prayer. He is under a death threat. All he has to do is interpret the king’s dream. But the king had refused to actually tell them what the dream was. The wisemen were expected to not only interpret it, but to actually figure out the dream itself. Daunting, to say the least.

Now remember, back in chapter 1 we read that Daniel “could understand visions and dreams of all kinds” (Daniel 1:17). But Daniel doesn’t presume upon this ability. To do so could easily have ended in disaster. No, he went down on his knees and asked God for mercy—and for the information the king had requested. And God came through! Verse 19, “During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision.”  

• Daniel 3:17-18 – If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

This is that very familiar story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who have refused to obey the King’s command to worship his statue. They very clearly remembered God’s command which we can read in Exodus 20:4-6:

“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.”

For them, obedience to God was non-negotiable. They would gladly face the fiery furnace to remain obedient. They were fully aware they would most likely die as a result. They were also aware their God was a miracle-working God, and they reasoned there was at least a chance that God would deliver them from this fate. But “even if he does not,” they refused to compromise. They were prepared to stand fast in obedience all the way to death. 

And we all know the result. God did! And as a result, Nebuchadnezzar, at least for a time, recognized their God, and directed the nation to do the same.

• Daniel 4:3 – How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.

This is part of Nebuchadnezzar’s declaration about the God of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Tragically, this declaration came from his head and not from his heart. Just twelve months later, he was once again king of his own little kingdom, and the God of Daniel was forgotten, culminating in seven years of madness, of insanity.

Interestingly, once his sanity was restored, his understanding of Daniel’s God expanded. He declared, “I… praise and exalt and glorify the King of heaven, because everything he does is right and all his ways are just. All those who walk in pride he is able to humble” (Daniel 4:37).

We can learn something from Nebuchadnezzar. It would do us well to remember that:

“His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35).

God does as He pleases. Who are we to question Him?

• Daniel 6:10 – Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. 

Once again Daniel is on the hotseat. Once again his life is on the line if he continues to insist on obedience to his God. And once again, he doesn’t waver. As some have pointed out, when his choice was deny God’s command and live, or obey God and die, he not only continued to pray, but he did so in front of an open window. He was not hiding what he was doing!

And we know the result. Daniel is thrown into the lions’ den. While the king spends a restless night, Daniel spent the night in perfect peace, trusting in his God once again:

• Daniel 6:22 – My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. 

Daniel trusted, Daniel obeyed, and Daniel lived. And as a direct result of Daniel’s obedience, and God’s rescue, an entire nation recognized their need to fear and revere God. We would do well to read this decree from King Darius and recognize the truths contained therein:

“I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions” (Daniel 6:26-27).

I pray these verses will help you to recognize the value of trusting and obeying God at all times, especially during those occasions when you face seemingly insurmountable difficulties. The same God who rescued Daniel, Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego is walking beside you through the dark shadows, through the darkest valley, through the hardest trials.   

Even in the fiery furnace, even in the lions’ den, we have His sure promise, “You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will be with you until the end of time” (Matthew 28:20 ERV).