Back to the life of Daniel. He’s been distinguished as above even the governors and satraps, as a man of excellent spirit. But with all success comes doubters and those willing to pull you down. The person who lives with integrity, both at home and when they go out, will always stand out. It’s natural. People will notice that you’re not like the rest. In fact, the worse society becomes, the more the exceptional qualities of those with integrity will become obvious.
This was the case with Daniel, and this didn’t start with his promotion. Flick back, or should I say swipe back, to Daniel 5, and we’ll see the night that King Belshazzar saw the writing on the wall (this isn’t one of those idioms, there was actually writing on the wall) and was distressed, desperate to know the meaning. He called the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers.
8 Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation.
The Queen arrived and spoke saying “Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change.” Why? Well, there was a “man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God”. And of course, she was talking about Daniel. If we really think about it, the Queen didn’t truly know that Daniel served the true God, I mean, there were so many “gods”, but guess what she did know.
12 Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”
Even the king knew of Daniel’s spirit saying, “the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you”.
It was more than simple knowledge. When you’ve got that spiritual insight, it affects your attitude too. A lot of things in life is about perspective, especially as Christians. Being a Christian doesn’t guarantee an easy life, in fact a lot of the time, especially as a new Christian, it requires sacrifices and difficult decisions. When you see life through spiritual glasses, you start to really realise the God that you are serving and that affects your approach to life.
So, when your funds are insufficient, and you remember that guy who does fraud, you turn to God and trust that he’ll deliver you. Or when you see everyone bugging your lecturer trying to find out what is on the test, you look to God, knowing that he’ll guide you in your revision.
As Christians, we need to remain connected to God. It’s like when we were kid’s, before the unlimited data days. When we were at home, we’d be set, strong connection with quick access. But as we leave our homes, many of us were left with two options: ration your data, or just not use your data at all. So many Christians are like this. At church we’re set, but as we leave, the connection gets weaker and weaker, only using our “data” and tuning into God during desperate times.
The good thing is that, for you and me, unlimited data is available, and we can always be with God, we just have to be willing to go through the process of switching our plan and following his.
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