1- Courage: “And as she was being led away to be put to death, God aroused the holy spirit of a young lad named Daniel; and he cried with a loud voice, “I am innocent of the blood of this woman.” All the people turned to him, and said, “What is this that you have said?” Taking his stand in the midst of them, he said, “Are you such fools, you sons of Israel? Have you condemned a daughter of Israel without examination and without learning the facts?” – Daniel 0
The beginning is usually a small message from our Lord, a simple gesture, a spiritual word that does not leave the imagination of the servant, etc. The servant can choose either to ignore it or respond to it. But it takes courage! The courage to stand in front of the evil that God pointed to, the courage to care about people, not only oneself, the courage to believe that no matter how good you are, you are still very far from what God wants for you!
2- Choice: "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself" – Daniel 1
And when our Lord finds a courageous response from the servant, He puts a choice before him. Our Lord does not want servants who are forced to serve Him, so He lets the world give them other choices, and the servant has to choose, either he walks with our Lord or the world.
3- Talent and Wisdom: "The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days." – Daniel 2
With the servant's choice of our Lord, talents and gifts begin to appear in his life. The King of kings does not leave his servants without help in order to complete their mission. But with the emergence of talents, the egoappears! An inattentive servant can get carried away, feeling that it is all his own and his abilities. But the wise servant always knows that there is a God in the heavens!
4- Prayer and freedom: “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.” – Daniel 6
As the spiritual servant grows, everything around him disappears, he is not distracted by the lusts of the world, and the worries of the world do not disturb him. All his thoughts are in freedom, in Jerusalem! And the servant always knows that the real prison is the prison of sin, not the prison of the material world. And because he knows that there is a God in the heavens, his entire life is prayer, the rest is all given to us, but prayer is the foundation!
5- The Relationship: “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” – Daniel 6
And with the advance of age and relationship with our Lord, the servant feels that he has a special relation withHim. The God of the whole universe sends him an angel every day to guard him from the lions that want to kill him. But the servant is not concerned with whether the time of his death comes or not, what concerns him is that he remains innocent before our Lord!
6- The prophecy and the message: “while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you aregreatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.” – Daniel 9
Finally, after this long journey with our Lord, the servant discovers his message. The message is much greater than a simple service that one does in his spare time. God wants to change the whole universe with you, but where is the servant who walks with God all this time!