Leadership: God’s Plan of Success for Managers Sample

Daniel: From Captive to Senior Manager

Similar to Joseph, Daniel was also blessed in his career, from trainee to senior manager in the Babylonian empire. The Bible has this to say about how Daniel was blessed even after decades of service under various leaders:

So Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian.  – Daniel 6:28

But why did Daniel prosper? What can we learn from him to apply to your work today? 

From the beginning, Daniel was given extraordinary gifts and wisdom that were key to his success. And when these gifts helped Daniel in his career, he gave the glory to God not to himself, just like Joseph did (Genesis 41:15-16, Daniel 2:26-28).

Also like Joseph, Daniel lived a life of integrity so that even his enemies could find no fault. In fact, the only way for them to gain a career advantage over Daniel was to resort to legal technicalities against his beliefs to gain advantage over him (Daniel 6:3-5).

The Bible also shows Daniel to be a man of prayer, all throughout his career:

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before.
– Daniel 6:10

As was the case for Joseph, Daniel was greatly blessed, even in the face of opposition or difficult circumstances. And, as was also the case for Joseph, the Bible makes no mention of Daniel being dishonest or disobedient at any point in his career. 

So why was Daniel so blessed in his career? How is it that God took him from foreign captive up to second-in-command the entire Babylonian empire? 

Like Joseph, Daniel lived and worked to a high standard that was pleasing to God. And, on top of that, Daniel seems to have maintained a solid prayer life throughout his career. But the Bible never says that God blessed him because of any of this.

So why was Daniel then so blessed? And, what does that mean for you today?

We’ll have to dig deeper for the answer to that question…

Reflection / Application 

1. We saw a lot of overlap between the work habits and characteristics of Joseph and Daniel. Which characteristics set you apart as a man or woman of God in your organization?  
2. Daniel’s management colleagues knew of his faith and thought that might be an area where they could gain advantage over him. What do your coworkers know about your faith? And how do they know that? 
3. Daniel put his faith ahead of even management edicts from above. Sometimes he negotiated for change, at other times, he kept to himself and continued on in his own way. Have you encountered policies or decisions that go against your beliefs? What did you do then?