Daniel 2:45b-48 “the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter; and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.”
Daniel 6:1-3 “It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”
II Corinthians 3:5 “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”
An additional aspect of Daniel’s “excellent spirit” (see the previous post) was his intentional deflection of praise to its rightful owner – the Lord God Himself.
As Daniel completed his interpretation of the king’s dream, he closed with an important caveat about his personal interpretative abilities. It wasn’t Daniel’s wisdom or power that allowed the meaning of the dream to be revealed, and Daniel wanted to be clear about that important fact. Instead “the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter.”
That single, humble declaration allowed Daniel to maintain his integrity, master his pride, and maneuver attention to his God. As a result of this move by one who embodied an excellent spirit, the king recognized the preeminence of the Lord while Daniel still benefited from a promotion. God was glorified and God’s man was propelled to a position of greater influence.
In our lives, any time praise is directed towards us, may we find a way to ensure that the real source of our wisdom and power is elevated. May our humble declarations allow us to maintain our integrity, master our pride, and maneuver attention to our God. This embodiment of an excellent spirit will cause God to be glorified, and we may find that we are still propelled to a position of greater influence for Him. PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO DEFLECT PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD THROUGHOUT OUR LIVES. After all, it is the great God who actually deserves it.
