October 8, 2026 Devo

October 8th, 2026

Powerful Words from the Prophets
Darius the Mede decided to divide the kingdom into 120 provinces, and he appointed a high officer to rule over each province. The king also chose Daniel and two others as administrators to supervise the high officers and protect the king’s interests. Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire. – Daniel 6:1-3 (NLT)
“A Faithfulness of Excellence”

How do you handle it when life bounces you around like a ping-pong ball? We get tossed up and down and in and out—it’s enough to make anyone crazy. Daniel simply took it in stride. He couldn’t control what was going on around him, so he simply controlled what he could: his response to it all.
There were a couple of things about Daniel that caught my attention. One is how he didn’t whine and complain to God about the changes or inconveniences he was put through. He leaned into God for strength and adapted to each new circumstance. The other thing that hit me was that Daniel didn’t embrace each new role with disgust or resentment. Neither did he try to see how easily he could get by when he got put in his new positions. Listen very carefully to this. He engaged each new man-given role as if it had come from God and did it with whole-hearted excellence. That mentality and character positioned him for God to bless him.
When Darius took over, he chose supervisors to be over the 120 provinces, and then put Daniel and two others to be the administrators over those 120 supervisors. Did Daniel see his new job as an opportunity to kick back and take it easy? Nope. He embraced it with EXCELLENCE. Look at what the passage says: “Daniel soon proved himself more capable than all the other administrators and high officers. Because of Daniel’s great ability, the king made plans to place him over the entire empire.”
Wholehearted faithfulness is a character trait God can bless. We may not like the cards we’re dealt, but WE get to decide the attitude and effort with which we play them. In Matthew 25, Jesus said, “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of more.” In Colossians 3:23, Paul said, “Whatever you do, do it with all your heart as unto the Lord and not for men.” Like Daniel, we don’t always have control over where we end up. But we DO have control over our attitudes and efforts. Let’s embrace every opportunity as a gift from God and, like Daniel, embrace it with a faithfulness of excellence. Let’s be winners and not whiners. Maybe then God can bless us as He wants to. That’s God’s Word for you today.