UNLEASHING THE PLAN OF GOD

Does it seem to you that things around us are unraveling more quickly than ever? I’m not talking about just the economy and international affairs, I’m thinking more about how quickly violence seems to erupt in unpredictable ways; how quickly international tensions arise; how quickly weather patterns change. If you don’t think so then just watch the news for a couple of days.

As I have been praying and thinking about personally preparing for 2014 and mentally wrestling to understand what is going on in our world, I have found myself frequently going to the book of Daniel. Daniel and his friends had been kidnapped and taken from their homes in Israel and forced to live in a foreign culture. They were being prepared to live their lives in a world that was not their choice. It is in this scenario that we read these words: “Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine” (1:8, NIV).

I want you to familiarize yourself with two words in verse 8. The first is “resolved” which is sometimes translated “purposed.” The use of the word here means that Daniel had an opinion or a philosophy that was firm, well established, not negotiable. In some contexts this word “resolved” means to stand upright rather than to lie down.

The second word is “defile” and it means to be polluted or stained. Pollution is often invisible but that doesn’t make it any less deadly. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross has provided us with righteousness, meaning we are seen by God as wearing clean, white garments. If there are stains on what we are wearing it is because we have put our hands in the dirt and rubbed it on our clothes.

Daniel’s resolve was not about food and wine. I repeat—this is not about food and drink but about the lifestyle that they symbolize. Daniel was not down on the culture he was forced to live in, as foreign as it was to him, nor was he advocating a specific dietary structure. He was just making sure that he did not get entangled in a philosophy of life that would destroy his relationship with God.

I believe that Daniel’s resolve was birthed out of the concern, “How do I maintain my life with God while living in this pagan community?” The conclusion Daniel arrived at is valuable for us today. 

While our society is unraveling and becoming more unpredictable, it also continues to become increasingly secular and the invisible pollution of secularism intensifies. This is the air we breathe every day! How do we continue breathing this and not become polluted?

Daniel saw what was going on around him and came to a simple point of resolve. He and his friends chose to put the Lord first in everything, but that choice would not be without its challenges. Daniel ended up being thrown to the lions because he would not compromise his resolve to honor God, and his friends were thrown into the fire because they refused to worship the prevailing idols of their day. However, all these young men experienced the protection of God that was released unto them because they chose to honor Him and put Him first in their lives.

Daniel and his friends continually saw the favor and blessing of the Lord upon their lives while they lived in Babylon. Their testimonies were not destroyed because they dwelt in a hostile environment; in fact, the opposite was true. These Jewish immigrants lived their lives honorably and made a great impact in the Babylonian culture. Nebuchadnezzar made this statement when the three Hebrews walked out of the fiery furnace unscathed: “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent His angel and delivered His servants, who trusted in Him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies, rather than serve and worship any god except their own God” (Daniel 3:28, ESV).

I believe the key to Daniel’s success is found in Daniel 1:8. He purposed/resolved to honor God as first, and when he did, it unleashed the plan of God for his life. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33, ESV). When this Scripture speaks of “His kingdom,” it is referring to His kingly rule in our lives; “righteousness” means that we seek to do that which pleases Him. In response to this “resolve,” He pledges with covenant faithfulness to respond to the seeker.

I do not make New Year’s resolutions! What I do, however, is to refresh my commitment to make Him first in my life. The greatest security we can have in an unraveling and polluting world is the protection of God’s plan being fully played out in our lives. The toxic savagery of a world system falling apart cannot destroy the purpose for which God created you, and honoring Him and living fully in His plan for you brings His hand of grace and protection.