Day 6

Scripture to Read: Daniel 1:17

God has a perfect plan for each one of us. He’s made it clear throughout His Word that as we obey Him and His Word, we’ll see His abundant favor upon our lives (Psalm 1:1–2, Matthew 7:24–29, Luke 6:47–49, Luke 11:28, John 13:17). That does not mean our lives are free from tests and trials, for even here in Daniel 1 we see the test that Daniel and his friends faced as they chose to walk in God’s Truth and not eat the food that had been sacrificed to idols. Also, others notice when we are obedient to God and His Word, just like the commander saw the evidence (Daniel 1:16) in Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. When we choose to walk with our Lord and obey Him, people watch to see what difference God makes in our lives. Our co-workers, unsaved family members, and neighbors are all watching us and observing if what we say is also how we live. We must always walk in complete submission to our Lord and His Word. We must trust Him even when the crisis hits and know He’s working in ways we cannot comprehend. Consider what God did for Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. We read in Daniel 1:17, "As for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom; Daniel even understood all kinds of visions and dreams." God blessed them abundantly (Ephesians 3:20–21) and He does the same for us through Christ and His Holy Spirit who lives in us.

Challenge & Application

• What did God teach you today about His blessings and about our obedience to Him and His Word? • How has God used you in the lives of co-workers, unsaved family, and neighbors as they’ve watched God work through you?

Don’t forget to pray using the A.C.T.S. (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) method!

Devotionals from this week

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Day 1

God has much to teach us in the Book of Daniel. We first read in Daniel 1:1–2, "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of ...
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Day 2

Daniel was called upon to take a stand for God at age 15. In Daniel 1:3–7, we read how Daniel and others were chosen by Nebuchadnezzar to be taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans and the Babylonians. Nebuchadnezzar wanted to groom these young men to get on his side and then use them to convince the rest of the population of Judah t...
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Day 3

We need to take a closer look at Daniel 1:6–7. The names of these young men meant something. Daniel meant, “God is my Judge.” Hananiah meant, “Yahweh is gracious.” Mishael meant, “who is like God.” Azariah meant, “Yahweh has helped.” We know Daniel and his three friends came from Godly Jewish homes because their names reflected something in the...
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Day 4

In Daniel 1:8, we read how Daniel, by the strength God gave Him (Ephesians 6:10–12), took a stand against the food and drink he and his friends were supposed to eat and drink. The reason eating Nebuchadnezzar’s diet would be defiling towards God is found in Exodus 34:15: “otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and t...
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Day 5

In Daniel 1:11–13, we read that Daniel did not back down from the commander's resistance but offered the commander a time to test Daniel’s idea on Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. We must remember that every time we pursue God and His will, there will be resistance. The devil hates it when we pursue God and seek to obey Him, so he is goin...
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Day 6

God has a perfect plan for each one of us. He’s made it clear throughout His Word that as we obey Him and His Word, we’ll see His abundant favor upon our lives (Psalm 1:1–2, Matthew 7:24–29, Luke 6:47–49, Luke 11:28, John 13:17). That does not mean our lives are free from tests and trials, for even here in Daniel 1 we see the test that Daniel an...
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Day 7

After training for three years (Daniel 1:5), Nebuchadnezzar inspected all the youth to see if they were suitable for serving in his court. God did a mighty work in and through Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah because they chose to abide in Him and His Word. These four young men, at 15 years of age, chose not to compromise. They chose to...

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