September 9
September 9
God doesn’t always call us to particular tasks because we are naturally able, but because he is able.
The book of Daniel focuses on God’s sovereign rule over human history and the affairs of the nations. The children of Israel have been taken into captivity by mighty Babylon. It seems unthinkable that, after all of his promises, God would let this happen. It appears that it is over for Israel—but you soon get the sense that it is not. Among the captives are four young men: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. They are not just captives; they have been taken to Babylon according to the plan of God, to do his work:
As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king. And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. (Dan. 1:17–21)
Imagine yourself in this situation. How would you have felt if you had been taken out of your homeland, ripped away from your family, stripped of your national and spiritual identity, and placed in a situation where you had no rights or power? What might have run through your mind as you were summoned to stand before the king? These four young men stood before Nebuchadnezzar because of the call of God upon their lives. Because of that call, they were more than lowly captives. They were the servants of the Most High God.
This is one of the most encouraging passages in the Old Testament. God chose these men for important work in Babylon. But he chose them not because of their stellar character, or because of the ease of the location he would call them to, or because of the size of their natural gifts. God called these men to serve him in this foreign land not because they were able, but because he was able. Read the passage again. God “gave them learning and skill in all literature and wisdom . . . ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom” (1:17, 20). When God calls us to a task, he empowers us to do what he has called us to do. Success in his work is never God’s endorsement of our power, wisdom, and character alone, but instead draws all praise to his.
Do you feel overwhelmed today? When God sends you, he goes with you. When he calls, he empowers.