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when commitment is challenged
Daniel 1:8-16 (JDV)
Daniel 1:8 Daniel set his heart on not defiling himself with the king’s food or with the wine he drank. So he sought permission from the chief eunuch not to defile himself.
Daniel 1:9 God had granted Daniel loyalty and compassion from the chief eunuch,
Daniel 1:10 yet he said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and drink. What if he sees your faces looking thinner than the other young men your age? You would forfeit my head with the king.”
Daniel 1:11 So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief eunuch had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Daniel 1:12 “Please test your servants for ten days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink.
Daniel 1:13 Then examine our appearance and the appearance of the young men who are eating the king’s food, and treat your servants based on what you see.”
Daniel 1:14 He agreed with them about this and tested them for ten days.
Daniel 1:15 At the end of ten days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food.
Daniel 1:16 So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables.
when commitment is challenged
Daniel had made a commitment, and his three fellow Israelites agreed to that commitment. But the chief eunuch challenged that commitment because he feared the consequences. Often when we dare to make a commitment, it will be challenged for the same reason. We should do as Daniel did — try to find a way to keep our commitment without condemning those who challenge it. The real war is not with flesh and blood. There is a contest going on in the unseen realm.