|PIC1|Daniel 1: 1-5 (NIV)

[Ashpenaz] was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service.

Over the next two weeks we will be dipping into the book of Daniel. The first chapter has personal significance for me. Five years ago, when I began my postgraduate study, I was wondering if I had set my feet on the right path, as the degree was going to be challenging to finance: I would need to work part-time while studying part-time. The university encouraged me to apply for government research funding, even though the chances of being awarded anything were slim.

In the time between submitting the application and hearing the outcome, I was led to read Daniel 1. Although, unlike Daniel, I had not been exiled by force from my homeland, I identified with the fact that he had been assigned to learn the language and literature of a foreign culture. I was encouraged to read that Daniel and his friends had been assigned a daily portion of food and wine from the king's table, and took this as a sign that the Lord was assuring me that my daily needs would be met during my study by provision of a research grant. The fact that Daniel's time of study and mine were the same-three years-seemed further assurance. During that summer I received a letter announcing that I had won the award and that I would have to study full-time for three years if I wanted to accept the offer. Of course I did!

Through this episode in my life, I have learnt that if God means us to undertake a task-even if it is, as in Daniel's case, something over which we have little or no choice-we can be sure that the Lord will provide the means and the sustenance to for us to fulfil it, perhaps from the most surprising of sources.

Prayer

Lord, thank you that you provide for us when you place us in unexpected situations.




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