There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In the time of your father, he was found to have insight and intelligence and wisdom like that of the gods. —Daniel 5:11a
Daniel is one of the Old Testament figures who scholars speculate experienced the Holy Spirit before Christ’s ministry. Certainly, today’s verse indicates his intelligence went beyond being smart or perceptive. He was able to discern and interpret things the most educated Babylonians could not. Twice before the events of today’s passage, he had interpreted the dreams of Nebuchadnezzar without being told beforehand what those dreams were. Few of us will be asked to interpret dreams or show a supernatural level of knowledge. If you are a Christian, however, the Holy Spirit lives inside you. The Holy Spirit can, whenever He chooses, use your gifts in ways you never thought possible. Through Him, you may be able to do what you thought you couldn’t before. Additionally, God gives His children measures of virtues like wisdom, diligence, faith and charity. Again, He may not lead you to use them in supernatural ways, but you may find yourself drawn to expressing one or two virtues over others. Study the Christian virtues so you’ll be familiar with them, and ask God to show you which ones are strongest in your life. Then use them to further His work. For example, if your virtue is charity, you can give, monetarily and otherwise, to causes in need. If your virtue is diligence, set an example to people in your workplace by finishing assignments on time or offering to help a coworker who is ill. The more you look for the Holy Spirit in your life, the more He will reveal Himself to you, and the stronger your faith will grow.
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