Here are notes from our meeting on 2/4 about Daniel 2: Speaking of divine inputs, we might not have the vision Daniel had, but we still receive divine inputs for our decision-making. Here are some examples, including ones you brought up in our session:

• Scripture brought to mind at the right moment.
• Conviction of conscience.
• Clarity through prayerful stillness.
• Wise counsel that cuts through the fog.
• Providence in timing and circumstances.
• Discomfort that will not go away.
• Joy or peace that accompanies a hard path.
• Repeated themes across independent inputs.
• Heightened moral imagination.
• A sense of “This is what faithfulness looks like.”

Keep in mind, we don’t regard divine input as:

• An excuse to skip our spiritual disciplines.
• An excuse for not being in community with other believers.
• An excuse for not engaging our minds.
• A guarantee of success and prosperity.

It’s easy to go through life as if we live in a closed system, i.e., no divine inputs. However, we saw in this last session Nebuchadnezzar’s advisors admitted it wasn’t enough to live in a closed system, saying, “the thing [content of the king’s dream] which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh” (Daniel 2: 11).

This brings to mind Craig Groeschel’s The Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living As If He Doesn’t Exist. Here is part of an abstract about the book on Amazon: “Are you putting your whole faith in God but still living as if everything is up to you? You may believe in God, attend church, and generally treat people with kindness…but are you living as if God doesn’t exist? Have you surrendered to God completely, living every day depending upon the Holy Spirit?”

When we’re in community with other believers, we can remind each other about the divine inputs that fill out our decision-making.

The University of Alabama Christian Faculty and Staff Fellowship meets on Wednesdays at 11:45 AM in the Chapel of the Baptist Campus Ministries Building (403 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401) at 4th Avenue and University Boulevard.

See below for a book