Daniel: Week 2 During the time that Daniel and his friends are under the “training” of the Babylonians, King Nebuchadnezzar has a dream, which causes him great anxiety. The “dis-ease” of our day is anxiety, and our society, including those of us in the church, are in a perpetual state of angst. We see it in words, wars, existential crises, and the pace of our lives. We are the most anxious, exhausted, overwhelmed, and restless generation in history, and most of us are infected with this reality. It is one of, if not the greatest threat to the Christian life and witness of the church in our cultural moment. Anxiety and love are mutually exclusive (1 John 4:18). Angst wrecks our lives, ruins sleep and relationships, sucks joy from our days, and plagues our quiet moments. It creates physical responses that debilitate us. The diagnosis Left untreated, angst wrecks havoc not only on our lives, but also on the lives of others. In this story, there are at least five clear symptoms. We become disturbed (Dan 2:1) – the King was troubled, and he became irritable, short tempered, moody, and unpredictable. We become demanding and deflecting (Dan 2:2-3) – He called in his experts and “demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed”. We want control by “speaking to the manager” and we deflect blame to our kids, our boss, our spouse, teacher, pastor, “they”… We become angry and violent (Dan 2:4-5) – when our fears are not alleviated, we harm others verbally, emotionally, and physically. Examples are social media posts, passive aggressive language to those we love, war, buys, riots We become conspiratorial and irrational (Dan 2:8) – the King’s demands were impossible. We become blinded to the reality of the situation through this anxiety. We become urgent and over-reactive (Dan 2:13) – A decree went out to kill all the wise men, including Daniel and his companions. He asked, “Wby is the decree of the king so urgent?” Anxiety leads to hurry which leads to destructive overreactions. We move from place to place, show to show, app to app, and thing to thing. We have angst about failure, reputation, value, safety, and comfort In reality, we root our safety in the outcomes around us, and we become slaves to the outside world. In our culture, the sky is always falling, and we are obsessed with dystopian dreams. It is no different in the church or in our homes. We become little Nebuchadnezzars presiding over our little kingdoms, fueled by the internal combustion engine of anxiety, spewing angsty pollution of anger, violence, and hurry everywhere we go. The Prognosis Daniel is God’s messenger in this story, and God equips him to interpret the king’s dream. In his dream, the king sees a giant statue made of four metals, with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, midsection of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. A stone that was “not cut by human hands” then strikes the statue, causing it to collapse and disintegrate. The stone grows until it covers the entire world. Daniel explains to the king that the statue represents four successive kingdoms, beginning with Babylon. He also says that the stone and mountain represent a kingdom established by God that will never be destroyed or given to another people. Daniel’s interpretation is based on a vision from God that provided an overview of world events in the future. The statue represents all kingdoms of the world, all human powers, and all human power structures. It includes nations, states, empires, corporations, political parties, and every other power that isn’t the Kingdom of God. Daniel 2:44 shows us that God “will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.” This dream is reiterating what the entire Old Testament points to…the Kingdom of God. Daniel sees a future reality, but it is not the future for us. We are living in the Kingdom of God! (Mark 1:14; Matthew 16:28; Luke 10:9; 11:20; 12:32) There is no power over the present Kingdom of God. In other words, God’s project of renewal is available to you today. Anxiety in all forms is unnecessary! This is what Jesus expected His disciples to do. (Matthew 6:25-34) Life in the Kingdom of God is undisturbed, undemanding, gentle, non-violent, rational, calm, and unhurried. Even though it is true that “in this world you will have trouble” we can “take heart, I have overcome the world”. We are to be unafraid because Jesus completed what He came to do! Removal of the danger or trouble is not the solution to your anxiety. Peace isn’t the absence of trouble, but the presence of God. The cure for anxiety is not removal of trouble but rooting yourself in the Kingdom of God. It is here, resting in the arms of God, that anxiety becomes unimaginable, and the peace of God guards our hearts and minds. The Treatment Plan Stage 1 – Enter the Kingdom This is a daily act of faith. We must swear off our allegiance to every other kingdom. Ask, “Whose Kingdom will I live in today?” Stage 2 – Admit and Abandon Your Attachments What outcomes are you attached to? What do you fear? If you are not sure, then follow your anger. If your safety, security, or happiness is attached to anything besides Jesus, your fate is slavery to fear. Stage 3 – Practice Peace Embrace the vision that Jesus had for us: souls at rest, filled with joy and peace in the midst of a troubled, anxious, and hurried world. We must practice peace because it is not natural for us to do it. Slowly swap out blame, disturbance, and anger for a calm, restful, non-violent, unhurried life. Practice: Silence and solitude – a barometer for anxiety Sabbath – enjoying and receiving the goodness of God Being Fully Present – focus on one thing. multi-tasking is the handmaiden of anxiety. Meditation – Let the Word of God soak into your bones (Psalm 1)