That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. — Daniel 2:18
I’ve always been fascinated with people that enjoy things like escape rooms. They enjoy being put into a situation where there seems to be no way to escape and working to find a way out. While it wasn’t a room, Daniel had a situation like this happen to him.
King Nebuchadnezzar became frustrated because he had a dream and no one could tell him what it meant. He had sought counsel and was told that no one was wise enough to tell him the meaning of his dream. So he issued a decree to kill all those who were considered wise men. Daniel was one of those men. The king’s captain approached and shared with Daniel that he was there to kill him according to the king’s decree. Daniel went to the king, asking if he would give him time and that he would interpret the king’s dream. The king granted that time to Daniel.
We find in verse 18 that Daniel went to his friends and shared the situation, they were facing death. Instead of planning how to escape and run for their lives, Daniel and his friends decided to go to God. They didn’t know what the dream meant. They didn’t know how they were going to escape death. But they knew that if they were going to live, it was going to take God’s mercy in showing them the way.
Daniel and his friends were not telling God about all their ailments in life. They weren’t praying for a new car, a new house, or anything like that. They got serious with God. This was a point they could not see a way to escape.
Sometimes, God brings us to these points in our lives so we will see that we cannot make it without Him. He knows exactly where we are and what will deepen our trust and reliance upon Him. When we find those times of no escape, the solution is not to run to the things of this world. Daniel didn’t go to his friends for an escape plan. He didn’t run to the self-help aisle. He went straight to God! God wants us to trust Him to the very end, even when there seems to be no way to escape.