Word for the day by Christian Education Forum
Youth: Search for a Meaningful Life
Daniel 1:1-17
“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he may not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8 NKJV).
When we read into the story of Daniel, we see a perfect example of young men striving to serve God in the midst of great adversity. Young and old alike, we can all draw many parallels from the life of Daniel and his friends to our lives as followers of Jesus Christ in the present day.
In the book of Daniel, God’s judgment on the Israelites manifests in Babylon’s invasion of Judea. The Israelites were given chance after chance to repent and turn from their wicked ways, but they stubbornly refused to do so. Thus, we are given the story of Daniel. He and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were selected to be trained for service in King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace. In the course of their training, they were offered royal food and wine. In verse 8, we see that Daniel refuses this food and wine, and he tells the chief official that it will “defile” him. The chief official, fearing for his life, tells Daniel that the King cannot see Daniel and his friends looking in worse condition than the other young men who are training and enjoying the King’s royal diet. Daniel puts this to the test by requesting for a brief period of 10 days to eat only vegetables and drink only water. At the end of the 10 days, the four Israelite young men looked “better and fatter in flesh” than the other young men (Daniel 1:15 NKJV).
Oftentimes, the world seeks to lay claim to us. This is manifested through various influences including untamed tongues, ungodly music, lusts of the flesh, alcohol, illicit drugs, and many other distractions. In the culture that many of us grow up within the West, a majority of the aforementioned sins have become normalized and accepted. It is a continuous process of rebranding that we are exposed to on a daily basis. So, what are we to do? The world would have us dilute our Kingdom’s standards just as was the case in Daniel’s time. Let’s bear in mind that Daniel and his friends made the conscious choice not to adopt the standards of the Babylonian kingdom. Why is that? Because they primarily identified as citizens of the Kingdom of God. We can do the same in our lives. We can reject every temptation that would seek to defile us and rip us from our heavenly portion.
Let us ponder this thought – do we have a desire to remain undefiled like Daniel and his friends? In our own lives, we have been presented with a crossroads. At the bifurcation in the road, there is broadway and a less traveled narrow way. It is impossible to straddle the two roads. If we are to find meaningful lives, then we ought to navigate the narrow way in faith as Daniel did. By no means is it an easy task. However, we can hold onto God’s promise in Joshua 1:9 where God says that He will be with us wherever we go. Let us look to the cross. In the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ, let us decide today to stand firm in our faith journey and hold fast to our identity.
In the book of Daniel, God’s judgment on the Israelites manifests in Babylon’s invasion of Judea. The Israelites were given chance after chance to repent and turn from their wicked ways, but they stubbornly refused to do so. Thus, we are given the story of Daniel. He and his three friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were selected to be trained for service in King Nebuchadnezzar’s palace. In the course of their training, they were offered royal food and wine. In verse 8, we see that Daniel refuses this food and wine, and he tells the chief official that it will “defile” him. The chief official, fearing for his life, tells Daniel that the King cannot see Daniel and his friends looking in worse condition than the other young men who are training and enjoying the King’s royal diet. Daniel puts this to the test by requesting for a brief period of 10 days to eat only vegetables and drink only water. At the end of the 10 days, the four Israelite young men looked “better and fatter in flesh” than the other young men (Daniel 1:15 NKJV).
Oftentimes, the world seeks to lay claim to us. This is manifested through various influences including untamed tongues, ungodly music, lusts of the flesh, alcohol, illicit drugs, and many other distractions. In the culture that many of us grow up within the West, a majority of the aforementioned sins have become normalized and accepted. It is a continuous process of rebranding that we are exposed to on a daily basis. So, what are we to do? The world would have us dilute our Kingdom’s standards just as was the case in Daniel’s time. Let’s bear in mind that Daniel and his friends made the conscious choice not to adopt the standards of the Babylonian kingdom. Why is that? Because they primarily identified as citizens of the Kingdom of God. We can do the same in our lives. We can reject every temptation that would seek to defile us and rip us from our heavenly portion.
Let us ponder this thought – do we have a desire to remain undefiled like Daniel and his friends? In our own lives, we have been presented with a crossroads. At the bifurcation in the road, there is broadway and a less traveled narrow way. It is impossible to straddle the two roads. If we are to find meaningful lives, then we ought to navigate the narrow way in faith as Daniel did. By no means is it an easy task. However, we can hold onto God’s promise in Joshua 1:9 where God says that He will be with us wherever we go. Let us look to the cross. In the light of the finished work of Jesus Christ, let us decide today to stand firm in our faith journey and hold fast to our identity.
Prayer
Lord, we humbly submit ourselves to you just as we are today. No matter where we are in our faith journey, You stand alongside us. Just as Daniel stood firm in the face of adversity, we seek to be planted firmly in Your Word when we face the trials of this world. In the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Christin Mathew
Lord, we humbly submit ourselves to you just as we are today. No matter where we are in our faith journey, You stand alongside us. Just as Daniel stood firm in the face of adversity, we seek to be planted firmly in Your Word when we face the trials of this world. In the mighty name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
Christin Mathew