Raw fish and rainwater. An Australian sailor named Timothy survived on only those provisions for three months. Marooned on his storm-damaged catamaran, he was losing hope—bobbing 1,200 miles from land in the Pacific Ocean. But then the crew of a Mexican tuna boat spotted his ailing boat and rescued him. Later, the thin and weather-beaten man declared, “To the captain and fishing company that saved my life, I’m just so grateful!”
Timothy gave thanks following his ordeal, but the prophet Daniel revealed a grateful heart before, during and after a crisis. Having been exiled to Babylon from Judah with other Jews (Daniel 1:1-6), Daniel had risen in power only to be threatened by other leaders who wanted him dead (6:1-7). His foes got the king of Babylon to sign a decree stating that anyone who prayed “to any god” would be “thrown into the lions’ den” (v. 7 ). What would Daniel, a man who loved and served the one true God, do? He “got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to . . . God, just as he had done before” (v. 10). He gave thanks, and his grateful heart was rewarded as God spared his life and brought him honour (vv. 26-28).
As the apostle Paul wrote, may God help us “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Whether we’re facing a crisis or have just come through one, a grateful response honours Him and helps keep our faith afloat.
By Tom Felten
REFLECT & PRAY
Why is it vital to regularly thank God? How can you nurture a more grateful heart?
Dear God, please help me give thanks even when life is hard.
No matter what life looks like right now, rest in thankfulness with God tonight by listening to the Our Daily Bread Evening Meditations at odb.org/ukpodcasts
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
The book of Daniel spans seventy years of the Babylonian exile and is both biography (chs. 1-6) and prophecy (chs. 7-12). The first six chapters tell how Daniel distinguished himself to become the trusted adviser to Nebuchadnezzar (5:11-12) and Darius (6:1-5)—kings of two of the superpower empires of the ancient world. When God exiled the Israelites to Babylon, He commanded them to work for “the peace and prosperity” of their conquerors ( Jeremiah 29:7). Daniel “was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent” (Daniel 6:4) and “so distinguished himself . . . that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom” (v. 3).
K. T. Sim
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