Articles
Being about the King's Business
Daniel chapter 7 begins the part of the book that deals heavily with visions and apocalyptic literature. In Daniel 8, Daniel sees a certain vision pertaining to a ram and a goat. Daniel is given the interpretation of the vision after which he is exhausted, troubled and astonished. “Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king's business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it”(Dan. 8:27). Daniel’s experience in this vision is a very common one that is shared by others in the scriptures. But as I observe the passage carefully, Daniel teaches us a very important lesson. While we do not experience visions today, we indeed face many problems and situations that conjure up feelings of sickness and exhaustion. As Christians, living in a world that hates God can be very problematic and discouraging but we must press on. In the words of Daniel, we must be about the King’s business. Regardless of what we are troubled by, we must make it our aim to carry out the Lord’s duties. And how do we do that? The Apostle Paul provided some helpful insight that I believe can help us be about the King’s business. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord”(1 Cor. 15:58).
1. Be Steadfast and Immovable–The world can be a very harsh and difficult place at times. We may be put in situations where we are tempted to compromise our faith. In other situations, we may be vulnerable to Satan’s tactics. When moments like these occur, we must remember the words of Paul to be steadfast and immovable. Paul is saying that God wants to us be planted firmly and standing on a solid foundation: His Word. His foundation. This is a challenge and a challenge that requires extra effort, motivation, courage, loyalty and commitment! Sometimes the extra effort that we give no matter how small or how unimportant it may seem, can produce some of the greatest results.
2. Always Abounding in the Work of the Lord– One of the best ways to remain steadfast and immovable is to make it a habit to get deeply involved in God’s work. The more time we spend with God and His people, the better equipped we will be to face the world. The work of the King must take first place in our lives. It must resound and resonate with a passion through our actions. We can study our bibles more and tell or friends and families what Christ has done for us. We can make it our aim to edify our brethren every opportunity we can. Grabbing a coffee or spending some time over lunch discussing our problems and figuring out how we can help each other grow can go a long way. The Macedonian brethren went above and beyond to help their brethren in need (2 Cor. 8:1ff). They were all about the King’s business and we can do the same. Each of us need to ask, “Am I giving effort, or am I giving my BEST effort?” “Am I merely mediocre in my commitment or am I on FIRE for Christ?”Are you the five/two talent person or the one talent person?
3. Your labor is not in vain– Even if you feel like your work is not producing anything or your friends don’t want to hear you talk about God, don’t let that stop you from doing good. Even if it seems like you’re doing all that work in vain, the Lord is taking notice and He will reward you. What we do: our labors, our endeavors, the hard work, they are not wasted. Because of the resurrection, because our Lord and King rose from the dead and He sits at the right hand of God, there is no need for fear but for excitement. He has won the victory and He will one day reward us for being about His business.
