THRIVING IN A DIFFICULT CULTURE

DANIEL 6:3-5 NKJ 
3 Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. 4 So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, "We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God." 

We are back in the book of Daniel for today's devotional. This is another famous story of Daniel in the lion's den. But we want to see what Daniel was doing before he faced the lions.   

Daniel is a high-ranking officer in the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. King Darius is the king of this large kingdom. And this was not a kingdom who honored the living God. The Medes and Persians had their own gods. And it was quite common for the conquering kingdom to establish their own gods and system of worship.   

Here is Daniel living right smack in the middle of this foreign godless group, yet he is doing well.   

He was doing so well Darius was going to make him the number two guy in the entire kingdom. How could God-fearing Daniel thrive in this heathen land? Because he had an excellent spirit in and about him. He did things with excellence and with an excellent way or attitude.   

He was also faithful. He did what he was asked to do and was not sneaky or divisive or carry a bad attitude. He could be trusted. His detractors could not even find any fault or error in Daniel. So, they had to fabricate a situation regarding Daniel's habit. He was regular in his prayers. That was an area Daniel would not yield. And when the king banned prayer for thirty days, Daniel disregarded that decree. A side note. When Daniel was called before the king about breaking the prayer ban, he was respectful to the king, but he did not apologize. Prayer and his relationship with God were more important.   

Excellent spirit, faithful and trustworthy. Those character traits allowed Daniel to thrive in a culture hostile to his God.   

APPLICATION: 

The same principles that caused Daniel to thrive can also help us. Doing everything with an excellent spirit. Being faithful and trustworthy in all that we do. These things can cause us to stand out in an adversarial culture.   

And even with no other believers around, our hearts and attitudes can shine like a light in a dark place.   

It will also help to have an active, consistent prayer life. Daniel depended on God to help and sustain him, and we can do the same.   

PRAYER: 

Heavenly Father, please show me how I can become a modern-day Daniel. Help me develop an excellent spirit and a faithful, trustworthy heart. May I, like Daniel, bring glory to You.