I HAVE HEARD OF YOU
Daniel 5:14 NKJV
14 I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.
This is my straying from the path of the Book of Revelation for devotionals. I tried but could not work with the different horses and the opening of the seals in chapter six. I do know that I would prefer to not be around when the seals are opened and judgment comes on the earth. So, we are looking at the Book of Daniel and the story of the handwriting on the wall.
The handwriting on the wall took place during a party thrown by Belshazzar, the Babylonian king who replaced his father, Nebuchadnezzar. Belshazzar made a major mistake by eating and drinking from the golden instruments taken from the temple of God in Jerusalem. Belshazzar and his friends were mocking God when a hand appeared and wrote on the wall, thus giving us the phrase handwriting on the wall. This scared Belshazzar silly, and his fear was compounded by the fact that no one could interpret what the words meant.
Belshazzar’s wife suggested he call for Daniel because he was known to have insight into dreams and visions. When Daniel arrived, our verse for today was how he was greeted by Belshazzar.
I have heard of you, that the Spirit of God is in you. Ancient people could be quick to go to the supernatural. The Babylonian kingdom employed all kinds of wise men and astrologers, the spiritual men of their day. But Babylon’s best could not answer the king. But there was a man who had the Spirit of God in him. And this man, Daniel, had light, understanding, and excellent wisdom in him. That makes total sense. Daniel was not simply the smartest guy in the room; Daniel had a secret. The Spirit of the living God was upon him. And because of the Holy Spirit’s anointing on Daniel, he had a supernatural ability. Because of the Spirit of God, Daniel had light, understanding, and excellent wisdom. Daniel was a strong, righteous man, one of the best of his day. But the reason Daniel had such wisdom and insight was because of the Spirit, not his IQ.
Daniel read the writing, and it was not good for King Belshazzar. The gist of the message was that Belshazzar knew about what had happened to his father in being humbled, but Belshazzar never humbled his heart before God. He was defeated and died that night as God’s judgment came quickly. Daniel by the Holy Spirit predicted exactly what would happen and it did.
APPLICATION
This verse in Daniel 5 is a good one to speak over our own lives. If you have made Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior, then the Spirit of the living God is living in you. Now, to help make that spiritual truth more of a reality, we can confidently say the Spirit of God is in me. And light, understanding, and excellent wisdom are found in me. God may not use you the way He used Daniel to interpret dreams, but that same Holy Spirit can give you light, understanding, and excellent wisdom regarding the things that concern your life. So people may look at you one day and say, hey, I have heard of you.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for Your Holy Spirit living in me and giving me light, understanding, and excellent wisdom.