“Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king. Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.“
Memory Verse: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much.”, Luke 16:10
There are many things confusing about our expectations from life, the role we are willing to play and what we actually expect from God. An average individual thinks they have a good understanding of why they want what they want from God. Most times our hearts may be in the right place and even our request may be genuine and reasonable, but we just may not be personally ready for that which we ask God for.
A few days ago, I had a very interesting conversation with my sister about human expectations and how unrealistic they can often be. The most common term I hear from people is “don’t give me fish, teach me how to fish”. Whenever I go by the seaside, I see how much patience and practise is needed when men go fishing and the amount of time, they invest in trying to catch a fish. The only thing visible to most people is the fish that has been caught and as a result we begin to pray for the Fisherman’s kind of blessing.
When king Nebuchadnezzar wanted to choose men to serve in his palace, the criteria wasn’t to choose inexperienced, lazy and unwilling men. He had specific criteria such as good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand. The king wanted people who had a good foundation that could be built on.
Being a Christian doesn’t mean we can automatically pray ourselves into greatness without putting in effort to equip ourselves with the necessary skills to attain and sustain the position of greatness. Daniel was a Child of God and yes, the favour of God was the reason he was chosen but he was ready for service.
Are you ready for greatness or do you just like the idea of being great? The Lord’s promise to us is that “The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” Deuteronomy 28:12.
What’s planted on your land? What will your land produce when God gives rain to it? What has your hand found to do and when God blesses it, is it fruitful enough to reproduce?
Children of God have no immunity from hard work. God’s blessings is not our shortcut, it’s an enhancer.
PRAYERS:
- Father I thank you for blessing me with such enormous skillset and talents
- Thank You for your grace and favour over my life, I am grateful Lord
- Forgive my iniquities Lord and help me to live a fruitful and faithful life
- Help me to be clear in my vision, attain greatness and emulate you in all things
- Help me Lord to walk with you, be obedient to you and show love as you have commanded
- Father grant me the resources needed to occupy and have dominion
- Take my thoughts and actions and transform it to yours Lord
- I denounce failure and near success syndrome
- I declare live, success and goodness on all sides and in all areas of my life IJMN
- AMEN
