Lessons From Daniel

I have been learning so much from the life of Daniel. The first six chapters are full of all of the stories I've heard since I was a child--but there's so much more to them!

One of the major things that I admire about Daniel is that he lived his entire life above reproach. He was uprooted from his home and was a captive in a strange land. If I was in Daniel's shoes (or sandals) I would have freaked out. But not Daniel. In a culture that didn't honor God, Daniel still obeyed God's law. He didn't sit back, throw his hands in the air and say "well, you got me into this Lord so I'm just going to wait for you to get me out." No...Daniel was a doer. He used his God given intellect in every situation. In times of crisis he immediately turned to the Lord rather than panicking. He shared his needs with trusted friends who would pray and seek the Lord with him. He learned all he could about his new culture so he could do his work with excellence. He served the people, prayed for God's help, and maintained his integrity. He always gave credit to the Lord. He was diligent, disciplined, responsible and just a great representative of God.

How I long to be more like Daniel. Those who were jealous of him tried to dig up dirt on him, but they “could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent" (6:4). They wouldn’t have to look very hard at my life to find corruption, that’s for sure. Actually, it isn’t enough for me to long to be like Daniel. I can’t sit back and will or wish it into happening--I need to do something about it. If I want to be more like Daniel (and more like Christ), I need to become a doer.