“If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.” 2 Tim.2:21

Of the Hebrew people taken captive to Babylon, Daniel was, without the shadow of a doubt, one of the most remarkable. It is true that we had an account of what he and his friend achieved and how they worked together to sort out some issues. However, whether under Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius and Cyrius, Daniel remained consistently relevant. For those who know how public administrations work, except a fellow has something outstanding, a quality and/or some peculiar values, they cannot continue to be relevant when change of regimes bring about individuals with different sets of focus, behavior and principles.

I got very interested in this Bible character and spent some amount of time reviewing how he managed to remain so long on top. I then discovered a pattern, that on several occasions, God would frustrate the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, the soothsayers, the Chaldeans and the king’s wise men (Dan.2:5; Dan.2:10-11; Dan.4:7; Dan.5:8; Dan.5:15). They would then fail to meet the King’s request. Then would Daniel be called on the scene, and God would so mightily use him that the King would be left with no option but marvel at the power of the God of Daniel (Dan.2:46-47). I’ve discovered two features in Daniel that I think earned him the level of endorsement he enjoyed from the Almighty: one was consecration and the other consistency.

a. Consecration : Daniel set himself apart and was a God-fearing man. He was a man of service as attested by King Darius in Dan.6:16 & Dan.6:20 “thy God whom thou servest continually” . Daniel watched over what he ate, not wanting to defile himself with meat and wine (Dan.1:8); he had a culture of praying God thrice a day (Dan.6:10); he was accustomed to fasting (Dan.9:3). He was a vessel of honour, hence he was meet for the Master’s use.

b. Consistency: Here is where we miss it. Oftentimes, it is when we have a challenge and we are expecting something from the Lord that we would endeavor to pray consistently, fast consistently, refrain from any sinful action and attitude. By the time God answers our prayers and the issue is behind us, we come back to our former practices. Such was not Daniel’s standard. Rather, he was consistent in his devotion to God.

May Daniel’s secrets inspire each of us this week!