“Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm” (Daniel 6:3)

In our text Daniel has favor in King Darius’ kingdom. Even in the midst of all his adversity, Daniel’s excellent spirit prevailed. He was not consumed by what went on around him, like we are sometimes in our daily lives.

My friend, today ready your minds to be who you are in Christ; for in this crooked and tasteless world we live in, “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men” (Matthew 5:13).

As we walk in this world we must realize life is not always fair, and the world doesn’t care, nor will we be successful on our own. We must stop whining about our mistakes and learn from them.

In this crooked world, we as Disciples of Christ must walk to honor God, “…being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:10). This we do because we must know how to walk as children of the Light, for He is Light. We are often intimidated in this crooked world, and we try to blend in. 2 Corinthians 6:14-17, instructs us to not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, not having fellowship or things in common with the unbelievers, willing to live lives that are separated unto God, so that we are received by our most Holy God and Father.

In Daniel 1:8, Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s meat, nor with the wine. He developed something within, to help him walk straight before his God. In Daniel 6:10, he had an open demonstration of that conviction not to defile himself, by ignoring the statute not to petition any God or man for thirty days save King Darius.

My friends, we must not compromise the Word of God established in our hearts before our test comes:

• We must have a conviction based on right and wrong.
• We must be willing to have an open demonstration of that conviction.
• There must be a consistent walk. A walk to magnify the Lord, even if it is dungeon-dangerous.

Walking straight in a crooked world is possible for the child of God!!