Not On The Guest List.

Due to the noise caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother then entered the banquet room. She said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken! There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have insight, discernment, and wisdom like that of the gods. King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. Now summon Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.” (Daniel 5:10-12, NET)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Andy shared a point concerning the words of the queen mother recorded in Daniel 5:11. Our pastor noted: “There is a man in the kingdom. He is not at the party.”

Daniel was advanced in years. He had served faithfully under the rule of King Nebuchadnezzar, but by the rule of King Belshazzar Daniel was no longer found in the king’s court. However, Daniel’s reputation stood firm throughout the decades. In the time of crisis, the queen mother remembered him as a man of holy wisdom and insight.

King Belshazzar was surrounded by wise men, but their wisdom was not sufficient to decipher the writing on the wall. The king had to seek help from outside of his court. Things are not so different today. There are many men who can assert that there is prophetic handwriting on the walls of our communities, but few to present a divine interpretation of what is written.

An old hymn reinforced this idea of being a source of divine insight to our communities: “Standing by a purpose true, heeding God’s command: honor them, the faithful few. All hail to Daniel’s band. Dare to be a Daniel! Dare to stand alone, dare to have a purpose firm, and dare to make it known.” (Philip P. Bliss, 1873)

Where are we found? Are we at the party with the nobles? Are we in the company of those deemed to be wise, but who fail to provide holy wisdom and insight? Or are we living the life of Daniel: leading quiet lives in the kingdom of God, and waiting for Him to open opportunities for us to minister?