Daniel 5:23 – “And you have lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand and owns all your ways, you have not glorified.”
Daniel’s words to King Belshazzar of Babylon are pretty sobering and at the same time extremely encouraging. First of all, Daniel holds nothing back in telling the king he has erred greatly in his judgment and behavior. The bottom line is he was arrogant and did not humble himself before the Lord and he did not glorify the Lord.
But the last part of the verse is very encouraging. He tells the king that God “holds your breath in His hands” and “owns all your ways.” That should cause believers to be excited. We can easily lose sight of the fact that God is aware, He knows what’s going on, He’s near us, He is watching over us. Man, that’s good news. He holds the very breath you breathe in His hands today. You couldn’t even breathe without Him! He also owns all your ways. Now, what does that mean? Another version puts it this way: He “controls your destiny!” (NLT) My ways are in God’s control. I can be assured of His direction and plan coming to pass in my life. Even when it seems life has taken an unexpected turn. As a matter of fact, why don’t you pause for a moment and pray this simple prayer to God: “Lord, I thank you that you hold my breath in your hands and you own all my ways and control my destiny.” Then sit back and breathe easy. Hear Him say, “I’ve got this.”