Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings, and sets up kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who know understanding; He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.
I thank You, and praise You, O God of my fathers, Who has given me wisdom and might, and has made known to me now what we desired of You”¦.”
– Daniel 2:20-23
In our last post, we began looking at what this passage teaches us about living prophetically. We talked about God’s desire to transfer to us the wisdom and might He possesses. We also saw that God is the changer of times and seasons in our lives and how being aware of that helps us to flourish. Let’s continue.
He gives wisdom and understanding to those who already have it.
Remember the parable Jesus told of the ten pounds, in Luke 19:11-26? A rich man entrusted equal amounts of money to each of ten servants, intending that they would gain more through investing. They accomplished varying levels of increase, but one man did nothing with the money he had been given. He just hid it. His master was angry, and gave a surprising directive:
He said to those who stood by, “Take from him the pound, and give it to him who has ten pounds.”
The other servants objected, “Lord, he already has ten pounds!”
The master answered, “I say to you, that to everyone who has shall be given; and he who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him” (verses 24-26).
Things work a lot differently in God’s kingdom than we might expect. The Lord wants to give more to those who appreciate what He has already given them. If you are a child of God, you have an open offer of wisdom from Him. He promises it to us in many places in the Bible. If you value wisdom, you will seek Him for more – because we never have all we could have. He will gladly give it, for “”¦ He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6).
If you don’t value wisdom, you’ll be lackadaisical about seeking it – and your contentment to stay at your present level will hinder you from receiving all the wisdom and understanding God really desired for you to have (which is much more than you currently possess). We can never have too much wisdom, so go after the Lord for more. He’ll be happy to give it to you.
He reveals the deep and secret things to those who want to know.
This goes along with our previous point. God’s secrets aren’t reserved for a few hotshot prophets. He will share them with anyone who is serious about being His friend – whoever takes time to read His Word and ask Him about it; whoever inquires, “”What’s on Your heart, Lord? I want to know Your concerns. What do You want to talk about?” (and then listens for His response).
“”¦ His secret is with the righteous.” – Proverbs 3:32
“The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him”¦” – Psalm 25:14
You are righteous in Christ. You qualify to hear His secrets. He loves sharing them with you.
He knows what’s going on in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
In context, “He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him” is continuing to speak of God drawing out the deep and secret things and revealing them to us. However, I see an additional application we can make.
Recently, I was upset about a wacky teaching an influential prophet was disseminating. (Praying for the American Church is a major focus of mine, so when I see error going on, it really bothers me.) But the Lord reminded me from Daniel 2:22 that He is very aware of what is going on, and I can leave it to Him. I don’t have to get worked up about the dark things. Instead, He wants me to fasten my attention on Him, to lift my eyes to where He is, in the light. In due time, He will take care of it, just as He says about the tares and wheat in Matthew 13:24-30. I can pray for the Church to be delivered from deception, but I should do it from the place of gazing on the Lord of light, not fuming about the stuff of darkness. It changed my perspective, for sure!
If we’re going to be overcomers in our tumultuous times, we must refuse to focus on the darkness around us, get our eyes on the Lord, and have confidence that He is on top of things.
Let’s sum up the lessons we can learn from Daniel 2:20-23:
1. Believe that the Lord delights to impart His wisdom and understanding to you. Seek Him for more of it.
2. Ask Him to share His deep secrets with you, because He wants to.
3. Don’t focus on the darkness. Instead, keep your eyes on Jesus, in the light.
4. When life seems to be shifting uncomfortably, remember that He is the One Who changes times and seasons. Stay close to Him, and move with Him.
By doing these things, we stay safe in His care while growing in His wisdom and knowledge.
Growing in the Prophetic,
Audio Teaching by Lee Ann Rubsam
The Spirit-Filled Guide to Personal Prophecy,
by Lee Ann Rubsam
