Daniel 5:29 - 6:3
29 Then Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean king was killed.
31 And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps, to be throughout the whole kingdom;
2 and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one, to whom these satraps should give account, so that the king might suffer no loss.
3 Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other presidents and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him. And the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
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On the night that Babylon is conquered and becomes part of the Medo-Persian empire, Daniel is promoted to the 3rd highest ruler in Babylon. When Darius settles into his duties of ruling his new territory, Daniel remains one of his top 3 officials. In fact, it pleased Darius to have Daniel as one of his 3 top leaders.
Daniel distinguished himself, by the Spirit of God, as God's representative, among the other 2 presidents set in place by Darius. He outperformed the others so much so that Darius planned to set him over the whole kingdom. Daniel, like Joseph, was a faithful witness to a king over the greatest empire on earth; not just in his duties, but chiefly as a representative of Yahweh.
It makes me realize that God appoints people where he will, but we all choose how we want to perform in our appointed roles. Those who are overseas missionaries need to choose the capacity to which they are willing to be used by the Lord. Those who work blue-collar jobs need to choose to what extent they will glorify God in their workplace. Those who are leaders in church need to choose how excellently they will perform their service to the bride of Christ.
If Daniel had not sovereignly been placed as a high official in the Persian empire, the Israelites may never have returned back to their homeland. Daniel set up a good reputation for God and his chosen people.
In sovereignty, God has placed me where I am at. Sometimes it just gets so easy to ride the wave of his sovereignty and just believe that whatever God's going to work out, he's going to work out. But Daniel, like Joseph, worked really hard at everything he did, and through that, he was blessed with favor.
It's something that needs to be instilled deeper into me, and my old habits and lifestyles need to be chipped away. Not in a religious or legalistic sense, but because the Lord is worthy of my best efforts. The apostle Paul says that he "strives" and "presses on" to what lies ahead for his life (Philippians 3:12-14). The image is one of working with fervor and sweat, not complacent-sovereign-wave-riding. (this isn't meant to be a dig at surfers at all, since surfing is not exactly all that easy)
God's Spirit is in me, empowering me to be like Christ. But I can't just rely on that for the good works he has planned for me in advance (Ephesians 2:10); I need to labor and strive for his kingdom. I work at a church, and I should aim to be so good at what I do that other people who work at church would be willing to hand over other churches to my care. Not because I want to be the ruler of churches, but simply because God sets us in our place, and we should desire to give him nothing but our sweaty best, because he is simply worthy of nothing less. However he chooses to use and reward that work is up to him, but the effort on my part shouldn't be questionable or negotiable.
Father, please forgive my complacency and negligence. Holy Spirit, I seek your guidance and power to put to death old and childish ways and habits, that I may inherit skills of excellence, for the glory of Christ's Kingdom. In Jesus' name;
Amen.
My Sweaty Best
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
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