Stand Firm in Commitment

Wednesday, March 29

Stand Firm in Commitment

But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the royal rations of food and wine; so he asked the palace master to allow him not to defile himself. Daniel 1:8

If we want to appreciate the courage Daniel took in today’s verse we’d have to travel back to the time and place of Daniel, we have to remember how he got to the royal court of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Assyria conquered and destroyed the northern kingdom. About a century later, the new superpower, Babylon, conquered Daniel’s country, Judah. These invaders destroyed the temple and plunder it, taking its treasurers back to display in Babylon and with that they also took four young men from the best families of Judah to display in the king’s palace. Nebuchadnezzar was not interested only in education but indoctrination! These young men learn the language and history of their new home. They get new names. They are offered royal rations of food and wine. But these young men refused to partake.

This refusal frightens the palace master. If they don’t eat the good food, they might be weakened, and that would make him look bad. He’s answerable to the king’s orders. “Just give us a 10-day trial,” Daniel asks. The palace master agrees. He must have been surprised at the end of the 10 days to find that Daniel and his friends were healthier than the others.

In the end, Daniel and his friends took a stand and remain committed to God. God’s word describes this as Daniel made up his mind – Literally “placed it on his heart”. Daniel was a captive in a foreign land, but he did not forget his God.

Consider those times in your life when you have made a stand, a time when you realized that you had to do what God wanted rather than what someone in charge of you wanted you to do. Was it an easy task? I am sure the answer is no. But was it worth it? The answer to God is always yes!