Daniel 1:17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom" .... 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood they before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
This passage of scripture reveals the fact that the blessing of God rests upon those who put their trust in Him, by walking in obedience to His revealed will. In this instance it was the four faithful Hebrews who benefited from God's blessing in that He granted them great skill and understanding in their educational pursuits, because they stood firmly for the right, when their fellows were buckling under the power of the Babylonian king. But we are never to believe that Daniel and his companions did not make any effort at their studies, and that they just woke up one morning with supernatural ability to pass their exams. On the contrary, they had to put forth serious, well-directed effort at their work while trusting in God, for anything good that is accomplished, is done in cooperation with God who crowns our efforts with success. This sacred truth is borne out in several passages of scripture. Let's read:
Exodus 31:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: 3 And I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, 4 To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, 5 And in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship. 6 And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make all that I have commanded thee.
The very same thing holds true in the spiritual realm, for all of our victories over sin and self are accomplished in cooperation with God. It is because of a great misunderstanding of this sacred truth in modern Christendom, why so many Christians are disappointed and become discouraged after a while, when they do not seem to gain the victory over some stubborn sin or habit. Christ sought to clear up this point by stating unequivocally that self denial is an active and indipensable ingredient in the work of overcoming, because when God gives us grace to perform, He then crowns our efforts with Divine success. Let's read:
Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
For instance, if a Christian has an addiction to television, and prays earnestly to God for Him to remove the habit, God responds by doing what we cannot do for ourselves, and removes the desire. But He doesn't usually send an angel from heaven to turn off the tv, for that falls within our domain, and thus we are required to do all that we possibly can to facilitate the victory which only God can give. The same thing is true of gaining the victory over adulterous thoughts and actions. We cannot pray to God for deliverance and then deliberately go "window shopping" on South beach, or surfing the internet for porn, and really expect to be victorious. This is not how cooperation with God works. Let's read:
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
In other words, when we choose to do right, God then empowers us to put our choice into practice, but we must act when He empowers us, or else the victories which we so ardently seek will become an illusive dream. Many of us struggle to wake up early in the morning to seek God's face, and year after year passes with new resolutions being made to seek Him as we ought to. But for some reason it keeps evading us, and we are often in a quandary as to why this important habit is not being established. In most cases it is because of a lack of cooperation with God, for we often stay up late at night, being enchanted by the one-eyed monster, and so when God sends us the strength that we need to wake up, we cannot use it because we are too tired.
In such cases what needs to be done is proper planning from the night before, going to bed at a reasonable time, so that when The Lord awakes us, we can then cooperate with Him by arising with freshness of mind. But we are not to expect and angel from heaven to come and shake us out of bed, for the use of any force is contrary to the principles of God's kingdom, and He only accepts the willing service of love. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which encourages us to make the necessary efforts at overcoming bad habits and cultivating good ones, for God will help us gain the victory if we cooperate with Him. Let's read:
2nd Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
May The Lord add His blessing to the study and practice of His every word. God bless!