“Daniel purposed in his heart.” Daniel 1:8 NKJV

“There is a distinct connection between knowing who you are and knowing what you are about.”

My thoughts today are about “living with clarity.”

I think there is a distinct connection between knowing who you are and knowing what you are about. Circumstances beyond Daniel’s cause or control had taken him from his conquered country to a foreign land with many of his contemporaries. In the process, he lost a lot – his freedom to choose, his home and family, his culture and language, many of his friendships, and his privileged position within his society. The things he had previously enjoyed were no longer within his control or option. He now had to make a home in a place he never imagined he would be. Have you ever found yourself in a situation you never imagined happening?

Here is something somewhat unique about Daniel. He had a clarity of who he was and what he was about. He had lost of lot, but he never lost himself in the process. The greatest cost from imposed change is when you lose some measure of the sense of who you are. What is your reaction when you find things slipping from your control? Many people lose sight of what is still within their control. Your words and your attitudes are always within your control; circumstances and people’s actions are not.

“Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” Everything may have changed around him, but nothing had changed about him. His values were no different; his faith was unaffected. He understood that his welfare was in another’s hands, so he chose to be respectful, making requests and not demands, offering alternatives instead of arguments, and making friends and not adversaries. He adjusted to finding himself in a place not of his choosing, without becoming a different person than he meant to be. That is not always easy to do.

He found acceptable ways to not compromise himself or his faith. In a foreign culture, he walked with integrity and righteousness, while gaining favor with those in authority over him. He sought his own good by serving theirs. He lived wisely with clarity of the purpose to which he had committed himself. And when he could not do what was contrary to his purpose, Daniel accepted the consequences without complaint, rather than compromise who he was. Remember Daniel and the lions’ den? (Read Daniel 6).

Every Christ-follower lives in an increasingly unfriendly “foreign culture.” 1 John 2:15-17 NIV. Your values and objectives are mostly at odds with theirs. You will quickly find yourself in trouble – even confused and aimless – if you do not clearly “purpose in your heart,” and live consistently to that.

Babylon tried to change who Daniel was by removing him from the support system of his culture and religion, by imposing their own literature and language, by creating a new lifestyle and appetites, by promising position and prosperity for conformity, and ultimately attempting to change his sense of identity with a new name. See Daniel 1:1-7.

Don’t be enticed or deceived. That spiritual tactic is unchanged today. Don’t be fooled or influenced by that. “But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself!” vs 8.

My prayer for you today is to live with clarity about who you are and what you are about.