The Daniel way

Dearly beloved readers, 

The topic I will discuss today is one that I personally treasure a lot. It is something that God spoke to me with regards to my life and I would like to share it with you so that it may benefit you as well. 

Let us read Daniel 1:1-21.
We can approach this at two levels:

1. Surface level: If we take the scripture for its face value, we read about king Nebuchadnezzar besieging Jerusalem and taking many articles from the temple of God into the temple of the Babylonian gods. He also takes some of the local youth among who were Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Next it explains how Daniel chose not to defile himself with all the happenings around him and stay faithful to the God of his ancestors. We also learn one way of fasting, known as the Daniel fast. Daniel resolved not to indulge in the royal food and wine but have just vegetables instead. At the end, the officials found him to be stronger than the other and he also found favour in the king’s eyes. 
2. Deeper level: If we try and relate the scenario to our lives, we can equate Jerusalem to our lives, king Nebuchadnezzar to satan and Daniel to ourselves. When the devil attacks our lives (when God allows him to do so), he takes away the articles from God’s temple (us) such as our heart and mind which we have so far kept clean and places them in a “Babylonian” environment. Now the key question is, “How do I keep myself clean even in a dirty atmosphere?” We have only one way out when in trouble, the Daniel way! Just as Daniel “resolved” to eat only vegetables and deprived himself of all the lavish food, we too must learn to say NO to certain things which could be against God’s will. In order to do that, we need to possess the qualities that Daniel had: 

• Of the royal family: We need to belong to THE KING Jesus and be part of His family. 
• Youths without blemish: Have no sin in our hearts and bodies. 
• Of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom: Decent and full of wisdom. 

Endowed with knowledge, understanding learning: Have the word embedded within us. As we know, “the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6). The word of God becomes a key instrument for us to achieve victory over the enemy in such cases. You could try and use your own power and strength but trust me, that is not going to help. Remember Zachariah4:6, “‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit’ says the Lord Almighty.” Jesus being God himself chose to lean on scriptures when He was tempted by satan in the wilderness. That should be a hint for us to do the same. Next, when Daniel refrained from the royal food and wine, God helped him out by softening the heart of the person in-charge of Daniel. Likewise, when we make efforts to abstain from wrong doings, we will automatically receive divine help from our ever loving daddy in heaven. In the end, when the young men were brought in front of the king, he found Daniel to be the most able and gave him a respectable post in his administration. We find Daniel further being blessed for his persevering discipline towards God. Similarly, we should not forget that a reward greater than any man could provide is waiting for us in heaven and that the only way of getting it is by keeping ourselves away from anything that does not please God. 

To put it in mathematical terms, we need to take ourselves out of the equation while still being a variable which can affect the result.

Before I end, I would like to remind you about a very encouraging promise from God himself in Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

It is my humble request to God that He may always have mercy on all of us. Until next time, God bless you.