Choose Today Who You Will Be Tomorrow - Daniel 1

What is going on y’all! Welcome back! How is your Faithful Pursuit of God going? Is it getting hard in the mundane routine right now? How is God testing your faith? Here is the thing about tests… Tests don’t TEACH us things – Tests REVEAL things.

Many of us have been struggle with this false idea that “nothing that I do right now matters”… that is a lie! God has been reminding me more than ever that who you are today is affecting who you are becoming tomorrow. Your 20’s affect your 30’s. That is how life works! So, even in this time, as we go into summer…

CHOOSE TODAY WHO YOU WILL BE TOMORROW!

As I have been studying God’s Word, God reminded me of a man who did just that. His name was Daniel. When you think of Daniel you probably think of the brave, courageous, faith-filled man that faced the lion’s den (Daniel 6), but that didn’t just happen. He chose who he was going to be in Daniel 1.

We live in a microwave generation… a smartphone generation. It is hard for us to remember that things don’t just happen. Godly men and women don’t just happen. Godly husbands and wives don’t just happen. Godly fathers and mothers don’t just happen. This takes effort and intentionality starting now.

It’s not about putting up a mask like instagram… it is about being real and authentic followers of Jesus. It is about putting in the backstage work of growth and godliness when no one sees.

Just like Daniel we have to choose today who we will be tomorrow.

Daniel in the beginning of chapter 1 was TAKEN from their homeland and brought to Babylon (I am pretty sure there is a movie about this!). They were in a foreign land. They knew no one. No one would have known what they did. They were given new names. They had a whole new identity. This could have been their rumspringa and no one would have known.

They had to make a choice. Would they continue to serve the one true God or would they bow down to idols of the foreign land.

In verse 8 Daniel made a decision that would affect the rest of his life.

8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to defile himself. 

Daniel was brought into the kings court and he was going to be trained and educated and shown to the king. But the food that they were going to feed them would have defiled him. This may seem like something small but remember… small choices always lead to big ones. This was true in the life of Daniel (Look to chapter 6) and this is true in your life as well.

Daniel chose who he was going to be. He RESOLVED to be faithful. He RESOLVED to be holy rather than compromise. He chose to obey God even if there was a possibility of consequence. He knew that character always shows. He knew that what he decided to do here would set the tone for the rest of his time in exile.

The kings official reluctantly gave in but God showed up and showed Himself faithful right back (v. 14-16).

But we also see something else in this passage. Your choices always affect others. Verse 8 was just Daniel but in verse 17 there were “four youths”. The way that Daniel obeyed, even when it was hard, influenced others. He lead them to follow God by the way he lived his life.

You all are all leaders. You all have influence. The question is not if you have influence but WHO you are influencing and HOW you are influencing them. If people followed your life, where would you lead them?

CHOOSE TODAY WHO YOU WILL BE TOMORROW.

Daniel did. It was hard but it turned out good for him. God used him in a big way through the lions den and the rest of Israel’s history. But God did not only use him to influence them but also us. We are still reading and encouraged by him. What kind of legacy could you leave with your life?

CHOOSE TODAY WHO YOU WILL BE TOMORROW.

Be rooted in a church.
Prioritize God’s Word.
Life a lifestyle of prayer.
Run to God when you sin.
Proclaim this truth to others.

Maybe it has been a hard last few months. Your Faithful Pursuit has looked more like an Unfaithful Pursuit… but remember, if you have a relationship with Jesus you have HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS (2 Corinthians 5:21). You can start today.

You can choose today who you will be tomorrow. Today can be the first day of the rest of your life!