FAITH CAPSULE: Is your situation changing you, or you are changing your situation for God’s glory?

Daniel 1:1-16
 
Daniel and his three friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego, were taken captive to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went to Jerusalem and besieged it. Without doubt, captivity was not the best interest for Daniel and his three friends but despising their God was not their choice. While in captivity the king requested for some of the captives “…in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans. And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.” (Daniel 1: 4-5) Daniel and his three friends were set to receive and increase as desired by the king but they refused to receive the kings offer which does not line up with their belief. Evidently there was nothing in place that matters enough to Daniel and his three friends to persuade them from their love for their God. The Bible recorded, “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) Daniel and friends rejected the king’s offer and did not eat what was ordered by the king. They did not allow their situation to bring them to the level of unbelief. Daniel and his friends stood for God, whom they believed. Regardless of confronting challenges are you standing your ground in the Lord? Is your situation changing you, or you are changing your situation for God’s glory?
The growth of Daniel and three friends was to be tested to determine how well they responded in their growth from having been fed with King’s daily portions. The result of test revealed they appeared healthier than everyone else despite their refusal to take king’s daily portions. It is written,“And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the delicacies.”(Daniel 1:15) In addition to their appearance, they stood a better chance for breakthrough because they chose to be on the Lord’s side. Daniel and his friends refused to receive King Nebuchadnezzar because of their love for their God. Do not be conformed to what the world has offered you. Daniel did what was right before God He and his friends took their stand for God in the open. Above all, they did not lose, but gained by His grace.
 
Prayer for today:Ask for the grace to constantly do right before Him.