Increase And Promotion Through Thankfulness
“I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.” Daniel 2:23
The story of Daniel is one of the stories in the Bible that displays God’s glory and power. We can see this by looking at specific parts of his life.
Daniel was one of the young men chosen to serve the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 1:4-5). Daniel decided not to eat the food served in the Palace in order not to defile himself, so he only ate vegetables and drank water. As a result, Daniel and his friends looked healthier and stronger than those who ate the food served by the king’s order (Dan 1:8-15).
Daniel was known for his special ability, granted by God, to understand and interpret visions and dreams. Among the famous things that God did through him was to accurately tell Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and interpret its meaning (see Daniel 2). At the time when King Nebuchadnezzar had his dream, he called for all his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell him his dream and provide its meaning. Otherwise, they would be executed. Of course, none of them could do so, for it was impossible to accurately guess someone else’s dream and interpret its meaning.
But our God is real and alive, a miracle-working God. He speaks to His people and rescues us when we need Him. When Daniel prayed, God revealed to him Nebuchadnezzar’s dream along with its meaning; then he glorified God by thanking and praising Him, saying, “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).
As Daniel was thankful for the revelation and understanding God bestowed upon him, we see that promotion came into his life (Dan 2:46-49). After interpreting the king’s dream, Daniel was given a high position together with his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Afterwards, we can read in the latter part of Daniel’s story that his visions increased even more: God granted him knowledge about Jesus Christ and the future days that were to come (see Daniel 10, 11, and 12).
It was Daniel’s thankfulness and humility that propelled God’s glory and power through his life. Daniel knew that all of the goodness in his life was because of God, and he was thankful for it, always acknowledging God in all of His ways.
Sometimes, we can take small blessings and the humble beginnings of our lives for granted by complaining more instead of being thankful. For instance, it may seem like a normal thing for people to have meals prepared on their table or to see family members do their own thing at home, but all of these acts are God’s way of showing His love, mercy, and kindness each day. You can miss out on being grateful for these little blessings when you are focused on what you don’t have, what you are still waiting for, and any negative circumstances.
When you are thankful for the little things God is doing in your life, when you begin to see how blessed you are to have meals prepared on your table and see that your family is well protected by Heavenly Father, you can expect that the little that you have will increase further. As you acknowledge God in all things by being thankful, valuing what He entrusts you with, and living a lifestyle of prayer and praises just like Daniel, you can expect that God’s promotion and increase is coming upon your life as you focus less on the problem and more on being grateful every day.
