then the king gave daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of babylon. daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed shadrach, meshach, and abednego over the affairs of the province of babylon. but daniel remained at the king’s court.
[daniel 2:48-49]
daniel’s honor—a result of God’s work
God gave nebuchadnezzar a dream, God gave daniel an opportunity to interpret it before the king’s men carried out his death sentence, and God gave daniel the interpretation. it’s pretty obvious for us to see that daniel owes this honor, and his life, completely to God. why, then, do we think the honors we receive in this life come from our own merit? are our situations different than daniel’s?
do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
[james 1:16-17]
every good gift, every thing we have is a gift from God. how would our prayer lives look different if we remembered that fact? how would our thankfulness grow? how would our response to hardship change?
Lord, teach us to live lives in thankfulness for all that you have done for us. help us to live daily in remembrance that we are defined not by what we accomplish, but what your Son accomplished on the cross. thank you; i could never deserve it, and forgive me when i forget that fact.
~ stephen hall