MAKING THE RIGHT DECISION IN LIFE

Dan. 1:8

Morning Meditation 9/11/2012

“But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.”

Let's look at Daniel and what we are told about the decision that he made in our text. First of all, life is filled with decisions. Salvation is a decision. God tells us that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” and we must decide to accept what He says about us, or reject what He says. He makes an offer of free salvation by grace completely apart from our own good works, and we must decide to accept or reject His offer. People are making these decisions every day.

My wife came in one morning after I had finished my morning Scripture reading and asked, “Do we walk today or not?” If we walk she has to dress for it. I looked at her and said, “I do not want to walk, but we must.” So, I was confronted with a decision that would make a difference in my health. So, here I was back at the computer writing a meditation after having had a morning walk.

Daniel was a teenage boy when he was carried into captivity by Nebuchadnezzar and his Babylonian army. He was among those young men in whom was found no blemish. The king intended to school them in the culture and the language of the Chaldeans and use them in his court. This entitled Daniel and the other young men to special privileges that others did not have. This also involved eating the king's meat and drinking the king's wine. This would be against the law of God that Daniel had been trained in as a youth back home.

Our text says, “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank.”

This offer became a crisis in Daniel's life. This kind of a crisis always calls for a decision. Will we do it or not? Daniel was away from home. Nobody would blame him. He could easily claim if he didn't do it, he would be subject to death. Life really meant nothing to the king of Babylon.

We are told in our text that, “Daniel purposed in his heart,” that he would not defile himself with the king's meat. All real life changing decisions are made in the heart. Proverbs 4:23 says, "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."

It was not only a heart decision, it was a personal decision. It is like Joshua who said in Joshua 24:15, "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Those of us who know Jesus are to be governed by a different standard. The decisions we make are from the heart, and we will have to stand up against the criticism of those who try to change us. The world is out to destroy the convictions of the Christian. The Devil doesn't mind us going to church as long as we are mediocre, and what we believe does not make us act differently from the rest of the world.

This decision that Daniel made had to overcome the fear of what would happen to him if he didn't eat the king's meat and drink his wine.

Daniel decided and asked the prince of the eunuch to excuse him from eating the kings meat and drinking the king's wine. Now, the prince of the eunuch's was afraid. Daniel 1:10, "And the prince of the eunuchs said unto Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children which are of your sort? then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king."

Daniels decision involved faith in his God. So after ten days on a vegetarian diet he and the three Hebrew children looked better than the rest. The Lord God had blessed the right decision.

In closing this meditation, I want you to notice that Daniel's decision affected the faith of others. When we make right decisions to serve the Lord, others will ultimately be affected by our decisions.

We need to make the right decisions in life. As Christians our decisions are brought about by the things God says to us through the Scriptures. This is the reason that we Christians need to be on a daily diet of the Word of God.

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White