I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. (Daniel 5:14)

The Spirit In A Man

Daniel was taken away from his home at an early age into a land filled with everything foreign and opposed to his faith. As a young Jewish boy, he devoted his life to serving God. Three times a day, Daniel would bow down on his knees praying and giving thanks before his God. As traumatic the captivity was for Daniel and his friends, it did not shake his faith in the divine plan of God in his life. His early days in Babylon were filled with the challenge of learning a new language, learning about pagan cultures and facing the temptations of a foreign land. Their faith was tested when the king required they eat of certain foods that were defiling to the Jews. Trusting in the Lord, Daniel and his friends overcame the trial with great faith. Other challenges to their trust in God would come but in each case, Daniel exemplified a deep devotion in the will of his God and the divine plan of the Lord. When a new king reigned over the land, the faith of Daniel was tested once again. Belshazzar the king made a great feast for a thousand of his lords and drank wine from the vessels of God taken from the temple in Jerusalem. They drank wine and praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone with the vessels. Suddenly the fingers of a man’s hand appear and inscribe something on the plaster of the wall. The king was terrified with great fear. He demanded his wise men to explain the writing but none could. Fearful even more the king was greatly troubled and could not explain the writing. Hearing of the writing on the wall, the Queen came to Belshazzar and told him of Daniel who had done great things for Nebuchadnezzar. She said Daniel was a man in whom the Spirit of God dwelt and he possessed great wisdom regarding the Lord. Sending for Daniel, the king learned the riddle of the writing on the wall was the pronouncement of the end of his kingdom. That night, the king was killed and Darius the Mede received his kingdom.

There is no doubt the power of God worked through Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. When Nebuchadnezzar had his terrible dream it was by the hand of God Daniel was able to tell the dream and its meaning. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to the golden image made by the king but God delivered them. Understanding the writing on the wall was given to Daniel by the will of the Father. Later, Daniel would be spared from the wrath of lions that would have devoured him if the angel of God had not intervened. There is clear divine intervention in the stories of Daniel and his friends but the lesson should not be lost on how their character is what made their stories powerful. What the Queen said of Daniel is a character that should be the nature of all those who call themselves children of God. The Spirit of God should define all those who call on the name of the Lord. The miraculous intervention of the Lord through Daniel served a purpose and while the days of miracles have ceased, the Spirit of God should always be present in the hearts of God’s people. More importantly, others should see this spirit living in the lives of the disciples of Christ. This can be found in the speech, attitudes, actions and general demeanor of the Christian that God lives in them. The world should see these attitudes and recognize them as a part of those who serve Christ.

The Queen also said of Daniel that he was a man of insight, understanding and wisdom. This did not all come by divine intervention. Daniel and his friends were students of the word of God. Their life was known for their learning of the one true God in a world filled with pagan gods and ungodly lifestyles. It was not the best world to live in if one wanted to believe in one God and live apart from the carnal desires of idolatry with its trappings of sexual immorality, heathenism, false worship and debauchery. Daniel was known as a man of light because the light of God was in him. He was recognized as a man of understanding as the word of God filled his language. The excellent wisdom the Queen spoke about was from the diligent effort of Daniel to follow the will of the Lord. How much more for those who declare Christ as King to be the light of the world, speak with words of understanding and wisdom gleaned from the pages of God’s word. Christians should be known as walking Bibles with the light of God living within them. Let the world look for men like Daniel in the ranks of God’s people to show the meaning of what is written on the wall of time. People of faith are known for their faith.