Will I Ever Learn

                                                         

They praised the gods of gold and silver, of bronze, iron, wood and stone. Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote.

Daniel 5:4-5 (NIV)

“I’ll do it tomorrow,” I said. The next day, I spent the day with a sick grandchild, and never got back to my writing assignment.

“That’ll never happen to me,” I said.

Three months ago, my computer crashed, taking all my files and addresses with it.

“I’ll think about it tomorrow,” King Belshazzar said while he took another sip of his banquet wine. That night, he was assassinated and his throne given to another.

What does it take to read the handwriting on the wall?

Belshazzar was called to account for his actions (Daniel 4:28-37). Had he forgotten his dad’s demise into the cow fields when Nebuchadnezzar was humbled for his pride? Surely Belshazzar was privy to his father’s stories of insanity and restoration?

I fear I am more like Belshazzar than I care to admit. I, too, forget what God has done in my life and how He has redeemed my writing. I’ve also had a check in my spirit about disobedience, then gone on as if nothing happened. But, at some point, discipline occurs and I learn my lesson (again).

It’s at the intersection of ordinary life and the miraculous that a choice has to be made.

It may not be life and death, like Belshazzar, but it can change the course of events unfolding before us.

Praise God for the gift of grace.

Exercise:

1. Read Daniel 5:1-4 and cross reference it with Revelation 9:20-21. Why is repentance so hard?
2. Read Daniel 5:5-12. Daniel was brought to the palace for wisdom. We all need solid counsel to guide our submissions. Whom do you seek?
3. Read Daniel 5:13-28. The king tried a bribe to sway the message. Daniel didn’t let it blind him to truth. Maybe Belshazzar felt his power and wealth made him exempt to consequences? Do we delay obedience to God’s call to write His words?
4. Read Daniel 5:29-31. It seems the king went back to his party, but the party went on without him. Why does obedience require a swift response? How do our actions affect others?
5. Learn from my mistake and back up your computer files!

How will you interpret signs along your path?

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.