For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. Ephesians 6:15
This week in our Bible study together, we are learning about Daniel in the Old Testament. Daniel was a man who had a history of honoring God and living with remarkable integrity. Now, one might assume that, because of the way Daniel carried himself and honored God with his life, he lived an easy life devoid of difficulties and hard times, but that was not true for Daniel. Daniel faced opposition and difficulties simply for making decisions that honored God and for seeking to follow Him. The truth is, living with integrity does not mean life will automatically be easy. Daniel certainly understood this truth as he lived his life with integrity. His opponents did everything they could think of to stop him from succeeding. Through it all, he maintained his integrity.
In our story yesterday, we studied a moment of integrity in Daniel’s life when he was very young. Our story today takes place in Daniel 6 during a point in Daniel’s life when he was a much older man. Because of his integrity and because God’s hand was on his life, Daniel was honored by being given a high-ranking position in the king’s administration. In fact, Scripture tells us that “the king made plans to place him over the entire empire” (verse 3). This made the king’s other administrators and officers very jealous of Daniel. As a result, “they began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn” (verse 4). Daniel, they realized, was without fault. In other words, he was a man of integrity, day in and day out. He had been a man of integrity since his youth. Because they couldn’t find any fault in Daniel, they said to each other, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion” (verse 5). Let that sink in for a moment. The only “fault” they could find was that Daniel was deeply devoted to God. Of course, we know that his devotion to God was no fault at all. What a remarkable example Daniel set for us!
What about you? When it comes to your own life, are you living steadfastly with the integrity of Daniel? Is your faith so prominent that you are known by others for your faith and by the way you live out your faith? We all have room for growth. Let’s commit to following the example of Daniel, being fully devoted to Him through our words and actions solely to our God, the one true God, worthy of every ounce of our obedience and worship.
Take a few moments now to look at your own life. Would those who spend the most time around you conclude the same thing that Daniel’s enemies concluded about him, that the only “fault” they could find in him was his deep commitment and devotion to God? What is one step you can implement in order to be fully devoted to Christ and follow more closely in Daniel’s example? Commit to begin taking that step today. Do not forget to ask God to help you as you set out to do this.
“God, as I set out to follow in Daniel’s example of integrity, help me…”
Daniel 8:1-5
1During the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, saw another vision, following the one that had already appeared to me. 2 In this vision I was at the fortress of Susa, in the province of Elam, standing beside the Ulai River.
3 As I looked up, I saw a ram with two long horns standing beside the river. One of the horns was longer than the other, even though it had grown later than the other one. 4 The ram butted everything out of his way to the west, to the north, and to the south, and no one could stand against him or help his victims. He did as he pleased and became very great.
5 While I was watching, suddenly a male goat appeared from the west, crossing the land so swiftly that he didn’t even touch the ground. This goat, which had one very large horn between its eyes,
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