November 25

Daniel 1

Think of when you transitioned into adulthood and left home. Maybe your first experience of leaving home was going to college or maybe you left and got married. In every case, transitioning is hard and adjustments have to be made. Now let's take  look at Daniel who, at age 12 or 13 was torn from his home, put into exile, and enrolled in an extensive training program designed to transform him into a Babylonian bureaucrat. This new culture came into direct conflict with the clear instructions of God's word that was ingrained on Daniel's heart. As I was reading  this I was wondering what's the take away from all this? As Christians we aren't in exile but, like Daniel, are we not under pressure to compromise our values? Don't we daily come into conflict with situations that go against God's word which is engraved in our hearts? There is so much to learn here from Daniel's attitude and actions about how to respond when our Biblical values are challenged. It's hard to always know what to do but I think one simple measure to keep in mind is will what I do or say bring glory to God? As we read through Daniel we see incredible character fueled  by unwaivering faith. I pray for all of us that by faith and the power of the Holy Spirit we have the wisdom to obey the word of God which is engraved on our hearts when we feel the pressure of the word calling us to compromise.

Randi