Tests for Promotion
Daniel 2:48
“Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.”
There are no free rides to promotion. Many today want the status of a title, but they don’t want to pay the price that others paid to get it. Promotion should never be something that is just given away, but it should be something that is earned.
In the verse above, Daniel was promoted and became a great man in the land of Babylon. When reading the Book of Daniel, you find that there were many jealous men who wanted Daniel’s position, but none of them paid the price he paid to get there. There were four tests that Daniel had to pass before God promoted him, and God will use these tests to see if you are worthy of promotion.
First, Daniel had to pass the test of trial. Many times we forget that Daniel was taken captive. That means he never saw his parents again. We don’t know what happened to his family, but we do know that he and three of his friends were taken captive out of Israel. You’ll find in Daniel 5 that though he was a captive, he still had a good attitude and spirit about life. If you can’t take the trials that God sends your way, then you will never see Him use you in a great way. It is not just going through the trial that caused God to allow Daniel to pass the test, but it was going through it with a good attitude and spirit.
Second, Daniel had to pass the test of compromise. God tested Daniel to see if he would bow to the pressures around him. When Daniel was told to eat the king’s meat, he rejected that command for he knew he was not to eat things that were offered to idols. Many fail the test of compromise. You will always be tested to see if you will bow for the sake of convenience, or if you will stand for truth and right. Friend, when you take a stand against compromise, you will not be liked by many, and you will be attacked and criticized, but God will never use you greatly if you don’t pass the test of compromise.
Third, Daniel had to pass the test of integrity. One of the first things Daniel did when he acquired position was he remembered those who stood with him when nobody knew him. Integrity is important in the LORD’s work. The degree of your usefulness to God will depend on the amount of integrity you have. The more integrity you have, the more God can use you.
Fourth, Daniel had to pass the test of spirituality. Daniel didn’t stop serving the LORD when he was taken from his homeland. There is going to come a point in your life when God will test your spirituality. Are you spiritual all the time, or only when you have to be? Are you only spiritual in public, or are you also spiritual in your private times? The test of spirituality is important to whether God will use you.
Yes, according to Daniel 5:12, Daniel was a talented individual, but talent is not what gave him position. Passing the four tests above is why God promoted him. You will never be used greatly by God unless you pass these four tests. I challenge you to continue to work on all four areas. God needs people whom He can use, and you are certainly capable of being used of God. Your daily prayer should be to ask God to help you pass these four tests when He chooses to send them your way so that He can use you to the greatest extent.