Talk about your “best of a bad situation!” His was the perfect example of lemons being turned into lemonade. If you’re going to have your country laid waste . . . if your center of worship was to be torn down and burned . . . if you were going to be taken captive to a foreign land . . . then certainly making the trip on the “Nebuchadnezzar Scholarship Plan” was the way to go. An all expenses paid scholarship for training at Chaldean U . . . housed in the courts of the most powerful man on earth . . . complete with a pre-paid meal ticket giving daily access to the finest culinary delicacies and wine in the land . . . for three years . . . and, at the end, the outcome for employment in the king’s service is almost guaranteed. Sounds kind of nice, huh? Daniel had it made! A free ride! A promising future! Why mess with it? But mess with it Daniel did.

“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 might not defile himself.” (Daniel 1:8)

This verse has been on my radar for a long time. It’s one of those foundational principles . . . a core filter . . . part of a solid spiritual GPS. Purpose in your heart not to defile yourself with the king’s delicacies . . . resolve within your inner man not to be compromised by the world’s pleasures and treasures . . . determine, as much as lies in you and by the grace of God, not to be sucked in by that which is counter your high calling in Christ. Dare to be like Daniel.

That God’s hand was on Daniel was clear. His “starting point” was that he was “good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge, quick to understand, and had the ability to serve in the king’s palace” (1:4). Talk about being given the right set of tools . . . blessed with tons of natural ability . . . having good looks and smarts wired into your DNA. (Enough to get a guy a bit puffed up.) And then to be one of the chosen . . . to “coincidently” be chosen to be groomed and educated and prepared for an “upper class” lifestyle. The hand of God is all over this guy.

The door was clearly open by God . . . and so Daniel would go through it. The table was set by the king . . . but that didn’t mean that Daniel would eat of it. Even going down God’s clear path for your life requires discernment along the way. Whatever the nature of the fine food prepared for the king’s protégés, it didn’t align with a life consecrated to God . . . Daniel knowing that to eat of it would defile Him before the Master he served first and foremost.

And it was risky for Daniel to step out of the crowd and ask for “special treatment.” Those in charge of these young men were expected to deliver . . . not only the training . . . but those who also looked the part . . . strong, handsome, healthy, vibrant young men . . . a fitting visual as well as intellectual complement for the kings courts. These young guys were to be “grain fed” for a purpose . . . to alter the diet was to risk the kings wrath (1:10).

But this Daniel who had found favor with God . . . and who determined to be faithful to God . . . found more favor . . . for God brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of his handlers (1:9). God honors faithfulness . . . amen? God’s purposes will be accomplished according to God’s way . . . amen, again?

I’m looking forward to the next few mornings of reliving the life of Daniel in the courts of the king of Babylon and then the king of Persia. I’m always inspired by his faith and fortitude . . . his determination to remain true to his God in a foreign land . . . even if it involves getting thrown into a flaming furnace or a lion’s den. I enjoy rekindling the awe factor of the amazing way God works in and through this man . . . rescuing him out of perilous situations . . . using him to win over a pagan king. And with this sense of anticipation, I’m reminded it all begins with a foundational principle . . . a core filter . . . a correctly set spiritual GPS . . . an inner determination not to defile himself with world’s offerings . . . to be true to the God of his calling, though all others might compromise . . . to set his heart on pleasing God above all things, refusing the temptations of an anti-God environment and culture.

Dare to be like Daniel? By God’s grace, Yes! . . . for His glory . . . amen and amen.