0256. Daniel's Undaunted Courage

Daniel’s Undaunted Courage

"Therefore he requested the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself" (Dan_1:8).

It was a brave stand followed by a courageous step. How dare he do it! Take his stand contrary to the command of the king and to the customs of the court! Even the prince of the eunuchs feared that his consent to Daniel’s unheard-of request, would endanger his own head to the king.

But Daniel with much wisdom pled for a ten days’ trial–and Daniel won out completely; for at the end of the days the countenances of him and his three friends were fairer and fatter than those of any of the youths, who had eaten the king’s meat and who had drunken his wine.

There is a word that goes the round these days. "When you are in Rome do as the Romans do." This was wholly obnoxious to Daniel. He believed that when he was in Babylon, he should do as God would have him do, having no fear for the consequences.

It would have been the easy thing and the natural thing and the pleasing thing, for him to have graciously accepted the wishes of the king. Was he not a youth thrust by good fortune into the very presence of the king?

Daniel might easily have reasoned thus: "I have every possible chance of favor and preferment now with the prince of the eunuchs; why should I spoil it all with my conscientious quibbles? My raising has been faulty, the requirements of my God are too severe. Why should I be different from others? Why spoil my chances?"

It is always easy to drift with the tide, to follow public opinion, to do the natural thing.

Illustration: We know of a youth who, just before he went to college, spent a while with a civil engineer corps. There were eight in the gang. Most of them young men from the same village. Only one was a Christian. This youth found the habits of the other boys quite contrary to his own.

The real test came at bed time; when he had prepared to retire and the time had come for him to kneel down by the bed, as he had done from childhood. It was a simple thing to do? It did not seem so to him. He dreaded the laughter of the others–for all the men were sleeping in one large room.

Finally, refusing to side-step his responsibility, and to merely pray under the covers, or even to wait until the light was out; he fell on his knees and began to pray. Some of the boys made fun. One fellow turned a sommersault on his bed and said mockingly, "Now I lay me down to sleep."

When, however, the ordeal was over, the other fellows stood up for the one who had dared to pray, and as he crawled into bed, and quiet came on; he heard a still small voice saying: "My son, I want you to preach My Gospel." That was years ago, today that boy is a preacher and he sits here pounding the machine and thanking God as he writes this lesson, thanking God he won out in a very simple but wide-reaching test.

Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR