Faithful Under Pressure

(Daniel 1 & 2)
One of my favorite stories in the Old Testament is the story of Daniel. He stands as a great example of how to live out our lives in this world in a way that brings honor to God. As a young man, Daniel is taken captive and removed from his homeland. He finds himself in a foreign nation, serving under an evil king. His name is changed and he is instructed to begin living like the natives. His Jewish name, Daniel, which honors God is changed to Belteshazzar, a name that honors the king. He is given the food of the king, which would violate his conscience and God's Law.

Here is the thing that I admire most! He is away from mom and dad, he is away from the "church", he is far from home, yet he determines to continue to live in a way that pleases God. His surroundings, his circumstances are not what determines his conduct. Daniel is God's man in every location, in every situation and God blesses him for that. He is rewarded in the here and now for his faithfulness. (of course he is also rewarded eternally) God uses Daniel to demonstrate His power before king Nebuchadnezzar. He interprets dreams and demonstrates great wisdom, so the king makes him ruler over the entire province of Babylon.

While we read about Daniel's faithfulness and his promotion to ruler, the purpose of this is not Daniel's glory, rather it is all about God. Daniel understands that God is the one that is doing the work, he understands that alone, he is helpless. After interpreting the dream for the king, Daniel makes it clear that it is not his power that has enabled him to do this. "The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy." (Daniel 2:45) It would have been easy for him to take the credit. He could have let everyone believe that he was the one with the power and reaped the reward, but Daniel is faithful in every situation.

The king understands that God is the one that is at work here. "Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery." (2:47) Daniel's faithfulness accomplishes God's purposes. The LORD is honored and glorified, even by an evil king.

Sometimes we think our actions have no effect, that our conduct goes unnoticed. Daniel calls out from history to say that our lives matter, how we choose to live has meaning. We may not serve before a king, but we serve before those that need to meet God everyday. When we are home or away from home, God gives us opportunities to demonstrate faithfulness. We can choose to eat and drink like those around us or we can choose to not defile ourselves. We can choose to identify with the world or we can wear the name of Christ.

Daniel had a choice to make and he chooses faithfulness over fitting in, he chooses to live honorably instead of comfortably. He chooses God over the world. His life stands as an example to us that when we chose to live our lives in a way the honors God, we will receive the glory that is from God.  "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God?" (John 5:44)

May each of us determine to live noble lives in service to God, whether we find ourselves at home or abroad, in high school or college, married or single, young or old. God will use us, if we chose Him. As they say.... "Dare to be a Daniel"!