ESOCS Devotional 30 December 2022
TEXT: DANIEL 5:1-12
MEMORY VERSE: “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.” Daniel 5:12
Daniel, a captive and a slave in Babylon, was promoted by King Nebuchadnezzar because he was exceptional in wisdom. He had an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and explaining enigmas. He excelled far and about all the wise men and magicians in the kingdom; at a point, he actually saved their lives when they could not relate the king’s dream and interpret it.
Daniel walked with God with an upright heart. People who live like him enjoy closeness with God. Joseph also had those gifts because he feared Him (Gen. 42:18). Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were upright before God too. They were also promoted in that foreign land. All of them had the excellent spirit. They had a sense of integrity. They lived with high level of moral and ethical standard. They feared God, truly.
An excellent spirit enables people to do things properly. Those who possess it are very diligent. They attend to issues with wisdom and are usually successful in what they do. They are easily attracted to people; and are typically honoured wherever they find themselves. They are not obscure in their environment. They are always outstanding because their dispositions speak well of them all the time in every place. They stick to principles and would never betray themselves or anyone else. They establish and uphold legacies. They would rather die for what they believe than deny it, whether by word or action.
Queen Esther had that spirit in her too. Deborah was notable for it. Joseph refused to compromise his moral ethics even if it was going to land him in prison. David the young lad would rather die in the hands of the giant that watch him abuse and defy the armies of the God of his father Abraham. Elijah would not compromise his prophetic standard and posed a great threat to evil kings. Paul would rather die at Jerusalem because of the gospel than run away from it. Mary, the mother of our Lord, and our mother too, had purity and integrity combined in her; and like very few people, she was easily submissive to the will of God even when she was told that “a sword will pierce through [her] own soul” (Luke 2:35). All these people had one thing in common: they feared God and kept His commandment (Eccl. 12:13). They were very close to Him in their hearts.
If we develop these characters in us, we would be like Jesus in our hearts; and we would live an excellent lifestyle. Nothing could be better for us; and nothing could be better than it.
CHALLENGES
- Do you possess the excellent spirit in you? If not, how would you cultivate it in you?
PRAYERS: Pray that you may serve and worship God in spirit and in truth.
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ESOCS Devotional 30 December 2022
