Ever been in that place where we wish that others would notice our worth/ our work? Wishing that people would do more than spare us a passing glance, quickly categorize us (incorrectly) in their boxes and look beyond us to the people who seem to have more to offer than we do? Do we bite back conversations with God that run “why didn’t you call me to work/ministry that’s a little more glamourous Lord? Where I can be seen doing good things? Sure you see my work Lord, but it would be nice if others did too “.
It is easy to be discontented with our lot and envy more fascinating lives. Like Daniel’s. Taken captive to Babylon true, but considered among the elite of his people and given the best possible education at that time. Noticed by King Nebuchadnezzar and placed in the most privileged of jobs. Noticed by King Darius and set for a higher promotion than the high-profile job he already held. Sure we wouldn’t want to be placed in a den of lions’, but if we were put in there, we’d be gratified that the king could not eat or sleep because of his concern for us. If we were rubbing shoulders with the powerful and influential people in the world, in our land, and even in our Christian communities, it can be gratifying to be personally known by people that are ‘big names’.
Yet there were some relatively obscure years for Daniel, years that he wasn’t a mover and shaker and was not a part of court life. Daniel, the highly placed official in the Court of Nebuchadnezzar is forgotten as early as in the reign of the next king, Belshazzar. The only recorded instance of Daniel appearing before King Belshazzar is when the fingers of a human hand appears and writes on the wall of the palace in the middle of the king’s drinking party. It is only in a crisis situation that Daniel is remembered again and called upon for advice.
What did Daniel do in the years when he could not put to best use his gifts and training for leadership? During this period where he was invisible from public life he was developing another gift, that of seeing visions. From the perspective of the world, it may have looked that it was hard luck that he couldn’t make a worthwhile contribution to the public forum of the day. In God’s economy however, he was still doing important work, this time hidden from view. We look at Daniel’s life in court, observe his character and conduct and try to apply lessons to our own faith journey. It is much harder to understand the dreams, visions and prophecies. Some of his visions deal with time that is yet to come. We struggle to unpack meaning. Given by God, Daniel’s quiet work away from the public eye has as much validity and significance as his governance work in the limelight.
I wonder how Daniel felt in the years when life passed slowly. When he was cast aside and it looked like his high impact work was over. Spending more time with visions, dreams and prophecies might be spiritually exciting, but this work was pursued in solitude. It lacked the energy, hustle and bustle of his previous job. Was he frustrated? Was he content exercising trust and dependence in God, playing a different role in God’s scheme of things, adjusting to different circumstances?
In Daniel’s case, God’s work for him in the public square was not yet over. It is fascinating how God works behind the scenes for Daniel to be in the right place at the right time. When Daniel interprets the writing on the wall, Belshazzar makes a proclamation that Daniel should rank third in the kingdom (although Daniel couldn’t care less about a reward)! Belshazzar is killed that same night and Darius the Mede takes over the Kingdom. As the Babylonian Kingdom passes into the hands of the Persians, Daniel’s new position at Court makes him strategically placed, a good man for the new King Darius to get to know.
So Daniel gets back to familiar work, but soon he will have a different set of issues to deal with, coping with the jealousies and plotting of his colleagues and imprisonment in the Lions’ Den.
There might be seasons in our lives where we are limited by circumstances in using our gifts and strengths to full capacity. We may pine for the glories of the past. We may be frustrated by the present and dislike its seemingly unrewarding responsibilities. God might be using this very flux of uncertainty to charter a new path for us that we have not yet dreamed of. If God has placed responsibilities upon me in the present, pursuing this work is important and worthwhile. It is not an inconvenient hindrance that stops us from pursuing our ‘real’ work. We use the uncertainty to wait on God and explore other avenues of service that we had not considered before. In His time, the other opportunities will come. We might even look back at the times of active waiting as times of real work, just as real as what preceded and followed.
