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Daniel — Part 3
With God-given wisdom, Daniel could discern the fact that the Babylonian culture was in conflict with the Word of God, and he had the maturity and moral courage to say a firm “no” to cultural pressures. Involved in this is the clear implication that Daniel was a keen student of the Scriptures and that he had the ability to apply what he knew to the problems of his daily life. Later on we read, “In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet” (Daniel 9:2).
In the early days of Christianity, we find another God-fearing man by the name of Barnabas, “Who, when he came, and had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord” (Acts 11:23).
Like Daniel in his time, it takes real purpose and spiritual energy to be faithful to the Lord in a wicked world. However, God vindicated Daniel and honored him greatly because he stood by his convictions. God always does!
Do you have that real desire and purpose to stand firm in spite of pressure to compromise truth and principles?
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