By Pastor Jomo Cousins, Ph.D.
Daniel 6:3-4 (AMP):
“3 Then this Daniel, because of the extraordinary spirit within him, began distinguishing himself among the commissioners and the satraps, and the king planned to appoint him over the entire realm. 4 Then the [other two] commissioners and the satraps began trying to find a reason to bring a complaint against Daniel concerning the [administration of the] kingdom; but they could find no reason for an accusation or evidence of corruption, because he was faithful [a man of high moral character and personal integrity], and no negligence or corruption [of any kind] was found in him.”
Daniel had the ability to separate and distinguish himself from others because he had an authentic spirit of excellence. Because of this, even when people tried to find fault in him, they could not. A spirit of excellence is something that each of us is responsible for developing in ourselves. No one can give it to us. I believe that Daniel became excellent by spending time with God. By the same token, I believe that the more we spend time with God, the more likely we are to act, walk, talk and operate with a spirit of excellence like Him too.
We must do our work as if we are doing it for God. With this mindset, we would do everything to the best of our abilities. But even when we have the best intentions, the passage warns us that when we work with excellence, there will be people who want to find fault in us. Don’t focus on them; focus on being excellent. Turn your haters into your motivators.
Prayer:
Father God, I thank You for Daniel’s example of excellence. Help me to work with excellence too. Lord, I pray that by spending time with You, I become more like You, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Except from: 60 Prayers in 60 Seconds, Page 35.
