DAY 29: GOD CHOSE DANIEL

 THE RHEMA WORD FOR TODAY

(A DAILY DEVOTIONAL WITH PREACHER SAM)

 

TOPIC: GOD CHOSE DANIEL

DATE: 29 SEPTEMBER, 2020

BIBLE READING: DANIEL 1

MEDITATION/MEMORY VERSE: DANIEL 1:9 (KJV)

Now God had brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs.

 

Who is Daniel? Daniel was a young teenager, probably 13 or 14 when he was captivated by the Babylonians. His captors changed his name with his three friends to the names of the false gods worshipped by the Babylonians, in an attempt of erase the connection to their Hebrew heritage and to the true God to whom their names referred. Daniel means, “God is my judge”. His friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah mean, “Jehovah is gracious”, “Who belongs to God”, and “Jehovah helps” respectively.

Daniel and his friends were put through an intense re-education process for three years, during which time they were taught the language, literature and culture of the Babylonians before entering the king’s service.

In other words, every possible effort was made to make them forget the God of their people, and embrace Babylonian’s pagan culture. Instead, Daniel and his friends remained true to God throughout their years in Babylon.

Daniel was eventually made the chief of the magicians, enchanters, astrologers and diviners (Dan. 5:11). He was in charge of all these men (Dan. 2:48), which sounds like they were not just his colleagues, they may actually have answered to him. Did they share his faith in God? Of course not. They looked to other things for their false power, and were involved in practices that were forbidden by God (Lev. 19:26).

What does it take to live uncompromisingly for God in a godless environment? From the time Daniel arrived in Babylon, the pressure was on him to be indoctrinated into the Babylonian culture.

And yet despite all the brainwashing, these four men stayed true to the faith of their fathers living and working (and even thriving) in that culture without letting it undermine their relationship with God (just like we are challenged to do today!).

 

Ecclesiastes 12:1 NKJV

Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.”

 

It is good to remember God in the days of your youth, just like Daniel and his friends, they remembered God in their youth and found purpose in Him early. Daniel was from Judah’s royal family, he would have thought of himself that it was his destiny to be selected, and defiled himself with the king’s meat. But instead, he remembered God, and that He makes the selection and not man (Dan. 4:17; Rom. 9:16). In other words, he knew he was chosen for a purpose.

The Bible explains that we are in this world but not of this world. Jesus said, “If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” (Jn. 15:19 NKJV). We are not of this world so do not conform to the pattern of this world (Rom. 12:1-2; cf. Jam. 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:15-17). “Not of this world” means the value system of the world. For the Bible says, “We are in the world” to be the light of this world (Mat. 5:14-16), that is, to be influential and make positive impact. Daniel understood this early in life when he found purpose in God, that was why the Babylonian Queen as at that time, gave an overwhelming fact about him (Dan. 5:10-12). But remember he was uncompromising; he was not of this world, that was why he was hated by his colleagues, but his undeniable influence couldn’t make them to find anything to criticize or condemn him with, except on finding grounds on the basis of his God (Dan. 6:1-5). Can that be said of you? That men couldn’t see any fault in you because of your positive global impact. In Daniel 8:17, he was the other man in the Old Testament that was called ‘son of man’. So he has his weakness, but his intimacy and deep relationship with God made men to see no fault in him.

 

Jude 1:24 KJV

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.

 

You are chosen out of this world to be an influence and light in this world. ‘Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth, before the difficult days come, and the years draw near when you say, “I have no pleasure in them.”’ (Eccl. 12:1 NKJV).

 

DECLARATION: I AM HERE IN THIS WORLD TO MAKE POSITIVE GLOBAL IMPACT. I WAS CHOSEN FOR THIS!

 

FURTHER STUDY: DANIEL 5