Text: Daniel 5
When Daniel was taken to exile in Babylon, he and his Hebrew brothers made a resolve not to defile themselves by eating the Kings food. As a result ,God granted him a very special ability of understanding all kinds of visions and dreams.(Dan 1:17).With this gift, he saved all the Kings’ wise men and his brothers by telling King Nebuchadnezzar what he had dreamed and what his dream meant. What an amazing gift! Despite realizing how gifted and how anointed he was, he chose to remain humble. He was blessed to the level that in all Babylon it was only him that could be called upon whenever the kings had dreams or any other wisdom related issues.
King Belshazzar wanted an interpretation of the meaning of the words written by a hand on the wall when he used vessels from God’s temple and nobody understood it except Daniel. (Dan 5:12).He promised a royal robe for Daniel, gold chain around him and that he would make him third in command in the whole empire but Daniel turned down the offer. He said he would do the interpretation but he turned down the gifts so that it would be clear that he was not after the gifts of the King.
Daniel understood that he was a man on a mission to display God’s splendor in a wicked nation and make the God of Israel known. He knew that what he had was from God and he was only but a steward. That’s why despite being entrusted with such a rare gift, he refused to take the glory for it. Though later the King ordered the gifts to be given to him and he was promoted as earlier promised, it must have been done in honor of His God and not him.
What do you do with the gift God has put in you? Do you ever remember that you are only a steward or you place demands on God’s people if you have to serve them with what was given to you freely? Do you know you the gift of God is not worth any material value? No amount of money can be equal to the grace of God upon your life. When you understand this, what you will get or what will be given to you after serving in the gift God has given you will not be a motivating factor. Begin to operate like a steward; knowing that you are taking care of what belongs to another! When this becomes your attitude, God will automatically put it in the hearts of men to bless you even without asking. In the mean time, be a Daniel that is not after the gifts of men, but after serving God in your generation with the gift He gave you. You have needs and God knows you do, and when He sends you, He knows how to supply all your needs (Phil 4:19) so you don’t have to become a burden to God’s people instead of being a blessing to them.
Freely you have received; please be fair to the world and give freely without expecting anything back from God’s people.