But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs (Daniel 1:8-9a)
You and your friends have decided to confront the class, work, neighborhood bully who has been bullying one of you. You have sat down and strategised on how to tackle this bully. So the day comes, and you all gather and march towards the bully.
You know what you should do/say. You know why you should do/say it. You know how you should do/say it
But when you stand in front of the person you freeze . . .
. . .
You are in a relationship that is not going well. Child – Parent relationship. Employer – Employee relationship. Boy -Girl relationship. Husband – Wife relationship. Friendships. You make a decision to set the record straight on how you feel about the matters that disturb you.
You know what you should do/say. You know why you should do/say it. You know how you should do/say it
But when you stand in front of the person you freeze . . .
. . .
You are a Christian. You have made a conscious decision to follow Christ and be under His Lordship. You are presented over and over again in various forms shapes and sizes with temptations that seek to derail you from your faith. Decisions are presented to you in your personal space, professional space, ‘village‘ space that test your resolve to daily take up your cross and follow Christ.
You know what you should do/say. You know why you should do/say it. You know how you should do/say it
But you stand in the face of those decisions you freeze . . .
. . .
Enter Daniel, Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego – the four Hebrew boys.
These boys are in Babylon. They are not here for holiday, they have not come to visit their relatives, they are here as slaves. They are here against their own wishes!
Most of the times when we are in a place of disadvantage, it is easy to reason our value system out of the window. Survival becomes primary and many things including values are and have been sacrificed for survival.
These four boys are in Babylon. Favor has fallen on them because they are chosen amongst other slaves, captives of war, to be groomed in the King’s palace for his service. How cool is that! Definitely not a boat anyone would want to rock.
Not Daniel!
He is well aware of his captive status. He is aware that he is now a privileged captive. But most importantly He is aware of three things:
1. Who he is – He is Daniel a Hebrew boy
2. Whose he is – He belongs to God
3. Why he is – He exists to please God
So when the meat is placed before him, unlike his three friends, Daniel does not even hesitate. And we see this character throughout his life, no hesitation on his pursuit of pleasing and obeying God.
Daniel we are told, resolved in his heart not to defile himself with the kings meat.
He made a decision and then acted upon that decision, well aware that death was amongst the consequences of his decision.
But God!
Daniel, we are told got favor with the Eunuch and the rest as they say is history.
. . .
Have a resolved 2019!
- Make a conscious decision in your heart to please and obey God with every breathe you take
- Follow up that decision with action regardless of the consequences.
