The Writing on the Wall - a short devotion

"Who wrote on the wall?"

My two- and four-year-old children stared at me, unwilling to give the other up. I sighed. We'd been down the road of "no one is confessing" before and I had to give them credit for sibling loyalty.

"No writing on walls. You can write on paper or in your coloring books. That's it. Got it?"

"Yes, Mommy," they both responded.

"Go play." They ran off and I turned to the wall. There was nothing I could do. Japanese wall paper was made of weaved material and there was no way to get pen ink out of it. I wondered if Japanese children wrote on walls or if my landlord would think American kids were crazy.

Probably both.

Pen ink on my wall wasn't a completely unbelievable sight with two young children running around. But king Belshazzar's experience of seeing fingers emerge from thin air and begin writing on plastered wall was so unbelievable that "his face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking" (Daniel 5:6). I doubt my reaction would have been any different.

God wanted to get the king's attention, and he certainly did so. I know many of us wish God would write on walls for us, but let's remember the message was not good news for king Belshazzar. It spoke of his egregious shortcomings and his demise, and was immediately followed by his death (Daniel 5:25-30).

I sometimes want God to write on the wall for me. I want him to be obvious about what he wants and doesn't want. But, I don't have to wait for an ominous warning in a drastic measure. I have his written word in my Bible. It is full of guidance and comfort and prophecy. It is full of evidence of God's holiness, God's faithfulness and God's power. It speaks of both grace and truth, both love and law, and both free will and God's will.

As miraculous and interesting as it would be to see, I don't want to see bad news writing on the wall. I'd rather read and follow the good news in his book.

Lord, thank you for giving us your word. Help me to stay connected to you through scripture. Amen