Taken from their home in Jerusalem to Babylon, Daniel and his three friends were brought into the palace to be trained for three years to serve the king. What an opportunity. In the land of their captivity, they had a chance to lead.
One catch. They had to eat the king’s food. As Jews, this would defile their bodies. They asked for a different menu. Afraid for his life, the chief official agreed to a trial.
Ten days.
When Daniel and his friends stood before the official at the end of this time frame, they were in better health than any of the other young men brought in to train. The official allowed them to continue eating according to God’s way.
The Lord blessed their training and at the end of the three years, the king found them…“In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”
Going against conventional wisdom. Trusting God for their needs. Blessing and places of influence given to them.
I long for that type of faith to go against the grain and trust God to deliver me. To trust him to guide me and provide for me.
I believe it starts with what I nourish myself with. What am I feeding on? Not so much how I feed my stomach (although how I eat VERY MUCH affects how I feel and think) but how am I feeding my heart and mind.
Am I feeding on the “food” of the world (what they read, watch and listen to)? Or am I feasting on the word of God and time with my maker?
I see in my own life, that when I choose God’s “food” over the world’s buffet of lies and self-indulgence, I think more clearly. I am more focused. Faith leads my footsteps after His. I am less easily distracted.
When I am constantly feeding on what “successful” people have done and how they got there, it is easy to believe that I have to follow the same path to get where I think I need to go. But what if God asks me to go a different direction?
Choosing God’s menu over the world prepares me for such a choice. I hope I’m ready, because at some point or other, I am sure to face a day I have to choose conventional wisdom or unconventional faith.
(The story of Daniel comes from Daniel 1)
What about you?
Do you find that what you feed your mind affects your choices?
Photo credit: Suat Eman // www.freedigitalphotos.net/
Great food for thought! (I just had to put it that way.). But, truly, it is. With all the distractions in the world…with all worldly information overload…God's word remains the true words of life.
I love Daniel's example of taking a risk for God.
"If You take the King's Shilling, You do the King's Bidding."
In a twist on this idea, I'd say that "If you dine at the king's table, you do the king's bidding."
In today's American culture, by way of TV, movies, media in general, education and even once-trusted elected officials, Christians (all people, really) are increasingly being offered a diet which is not good for them and leads them away from Godliness…and many people are lapping it up.
Ideas and behavior which were, at one time, shocking or shameful are now not only being tolerated and accepted, but also openly CELEBRATED. And, furthermore, those who still oppose those ideas and behaviors find themselves ridiculed. We live in a culture where good is promoted as "evil" and evil is promoted as "good."
More and more, people are being enticed to "dine from the Babylonian king's table" and I believe that the day is soon coming when Christians will be led to do the same thing…or suffer the consequences.
Christianity is about to get "real."
As for me, I choose to dine at MY King's table!
Well put David. It is increasingly more difficult to step away from the world's banquet. So important to be in step with the spirit!