Better with God

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Today's reading, titled Better with God, was written by Patricia Rabin. On her college volleyball team, my granddaughter learned a winning principle. When the ball came her way, no matter what, she could better the ball. She could make a play that left her teammates in a better situation, without throwing tantrums, blaming, or making excuses.

Always make the situation better. That was Daniel's response when he and three Hebrew friends were taken into captivity by Babylon's king Nebuchadnezzar. Although they were given pagan names and ordered to take three years of training in the enemy's palace, Daniel didn't rage. Instead, he asked permission not to defile himself in God's sight by eating the king's rich food and wine.

As this intriguing Bible story shows, after consuming nothing but vegetables and water for 10 days, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. Another time, Nebuchadnezzar threatened to kill Daniel and all palace wise men if they couldn't repeat the king's disturbing dream and interpret it. Again, Daniel didn't panic, but sought mercy from the God of heaven, and the mystery was revealed to him in a vision. As Daniel declared of God, wisdom and power are his. Throughout his captivity, Daniel sought God's best despite the conflicts he faced. In our own troubles, may we follow that example, making the situation better by taking it to God. Our scripture reading today is from Daniel chapter 1 verses 11 through 16 and chapter 2 verses 19 and 20. Daniel then said to the guard whom the chief official had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, please test your servants for 10 days.

Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food and treat your servants in accordance with what you see. So he agreed to this and tested them for 10 days.

At the end of the 10 days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. So the guard took away their choice food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. Now I'll read from chapter 2 verses 19 and 20. During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven and said, praise be to the name of God forever and ever. Wisdom and power are his. Let's pray. Loving God, when life's challenges threaten to overwhelm us, remind us of Daniel, who didn't panic, but sought your mercy and your best, even when faced with the most difficult situations. Help us trust you with our cares and give us the wisdom, strength, and peace we need. Thank you, Lord. It's in your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen. Today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.