What Warning Signs Might I Be Ignoring?

On December 10, 2021, my husband and I were parenting two small children and had recently moved to a new area. We’d been traveling and were also recovering from a recent illness. One night, when the kids were asleep, we crashed into bed ourselves and somehow got an excellent night of rest. We were surprised in the morning to find we had missed dozens of messages from friends and family checking on us.

It turns out our new town of Bowling Green, Kentucky, had been struck by a devastating tornado. A great deal of damage had miraculously missed us—our neighborhood had some damaged roofs and barns, but that was all. Thankfully, it ended well for our family, although Bowling Green has had a long season of rebuilding after that storm.  If we had been paying attention, we would have gone to our nearest tornado shelter. Because of our inattention, we had missed the weather alerts and the tornado sirens. We missed every sign that danger was near. 

The Writing on the Wall

Daniel was captured from his homeland, along with many others, and forced to move to Babylon, where he was also chosen (or volun-told) to work for King Nebuchadnezzar. While many prisoners assimilated into Babylonian life and worship, Daniel chose a different way. He developed habits of prayer, studying the Scriptures, and fasting to stay faithful to the One True God, but he also chose to serve Nebuchadnezzar faithfully (unless Babylon's ways conflicted with Yahweh's). Daniel was promoted by the king, but when Nebuchadnezzar died, Belshazzar took the throne and didn’t know anything about Daniel. 

In Daniel 5, Belshazzar threw a party and became drunk. Midway through, he demanded that the sacred items from the temple in Jerusalem be brought out. The Babylonian nobles began drinking from these bowls or goblets and praising their gods. At that very moment, mysterious human-like fingers appeared and wrote on a plaster wall.  Belshazzar was so terrified that he turned pale, soiled himself, and his knees knocked together. 

Being a foolish tyrant, he quickly yelled for his mediums and diviners so he could outsource this problem. “What does that wall say? And what does it mean?” he wanted to know. But the magicians were stumped. Finally, wisdom speaks through the queen. She knows of Daniel and his reputation for insight, and recommends the King ask for his input.

The King summons Daniel and promises rewards if Daniel will read and interpret the writing on the wall. “Keep your gifts,” Daniel says, but then he shares the meaning of the writing. It is a message of doom for Belshazzar.  Although Belshazzar has watched his arrogant father, Nebuchadnezzar, rise and fall through his pride, Belshazzar has taken the same path.

But you…have not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this. Instead you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heavens… you praised the gods made of silver and gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or understand. But you have not glorified the God who holds your life-breath in his hand. Daniel 5:22-24  

Are We Missing the Warning Signs?

Now, if you read the book of Proverbs, you would find a few recurring characters. One is a violent man—like Nebuchadnezzar, whom Daniel says killed anyone he wanted. Another is the foolish or drunken man, such as Belshazzar. Yet another is the righteous man (like Daniel), but one of the book's key characters is Wisdom. [1] She is easily found in our daily lives, pointing out the wise or foolish way to live.

Belshazzar had ignored Lady Wisdom until it was too late. If we listen, we hear the persistent voice of wisdom, but we often reject it in our anxiety or pride.  Belshazzar could not understand the writing on the wall; he had ignored the signs that he could understand—Lady Wisdom calling out through his own family history. It is worth considering how we might learn wisdom through our own family histories.

It’s so easy to see the warning signs in hindsight: how stupid we think the captain of the Titanic was to ignore the news of icebergs. But what warning signs am I missing in my own life? Am I too distracted to even notice warnings? [2] 

Learning to Listen to Wisdom

Here is a simple meditation exercise:

First, invite the Holy Spirit to join you in this moment of reflection. Of course, He is always with us. The only place He might be absent is in our own minds, because He won’t force Himself in.  

Now ask him: What warning signs am I missing? Am I spending too many hours on my phone? Skipping doctor’s appointments? Neglecting sleep? Constantly anxious or hurried? (As a general rule, following the way of Jesus isn’t an anxious, sleep-deprived situation.) [3] Is my heart hard toward someone? Is the Spirit directing my attention to some neglected matter?

Realizing we’re making mistakes is hard, and sometimes we just pretend we aren't—usually out of fear or pride. [4] But let's honestly acknowledge the mistake or sin we’ve discovered and hold it up to Jesus, feeling the shame, grief, or pain that comes as we do so. We must bring our failures and wounds to the cross before we can experience healing and newness of life. Know that you are forgiven, in the name of Jesus.

Now, ask the Holy Spirit for the next step. Turn off my phone at a set time each evening? Schedule with a therapist or doctor? Practice the discipline of pausing? Ask someone for forgiveness? Something else entirely?

Let’s commit together to obey the Spirit’s voice. We never have to do it alone; Jesus is pulling the weight right alongside you, and He does most of the work, after all.  My prayer is this: May we reject the ways of Belshazzar and his father. Instead, let us embrace the ways of Daniel and the wisdom of God. May we turn our eyes on Jesus.

1. Tim Mackie, “Book of Proverbs,” BibleProject, https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-proverbs.

2. Sarah Smith, “The Small Theft of Ordinary Days,” The Monday Christian, September 2026, https://www.themondaychristian.com/the-small-theft-of-ordinary-days.

3. John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (WaterBrook, 2019).

4. Dallas Willard, “The Beatitudes as Gospel: The Manner of Jesus’ Teaching,” 1990, https://www.dwillard.org/.