“And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry” (I Timothy 1:12).
Paul, in a similar manner to Daniel, walked closely to the Lord and made known to those around him the benefits of a dedicated life. Daniel had the impossible task, just like the other wise men of Babylon, to reveal, and then to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. The one big difference favoring Daniel’s success was that he had dedicated his life to serving God and had all of God’s resources at his disposal. He knew that his God could and would reveal the matter to him so as to bring glory unto Himself. “I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter” (Daniel 2:23).
Enabling leads to good works: “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Corinthians 9:8). “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13).
The result of being available, willing, and faithful to the work of the Lord may be more far-reaching than is immediately apparent. After the survival of Daniel and his friends from the fiery furnace, the king decreed that all people should honor Daniel’s God. “Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God. . . . Because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort” (Daniel 3:28,29). KBC
