May 2 - Kings

Week 18 (18 Min Run : 18 Push-ups : 18 Sit-ups)

Daniel 1:5,8-10, 12-17

5 The king assigned them a daily amount of food and wine from the king's table. They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king's service.

8 But Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, and he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. 9 Now God had caused the official to show favor and sympathy to Daniel, 10 but the official told Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king, who has assigned your food and drink. Why should he see you looking worse than the other young men your age? The king would then have my head because of you.

12 "Please test your servants for ten day: Give us nothing but vegetable to eat and water to drink. 13 Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food, and treat your servants in accordance with what you see." 14 So he agreed to this and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of the ten days, they looked healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food. 16 So the guard took away their choice food and the win they were to drink and gave them vegetables instead. 17 To these for young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds.

A popular fast right now is one that is called The Daniel Fast. When I read this passage, I do envision a group of young men eating at the king's table, carelessly and in a manner that is unhealthy. The purpose of Daniel's stand against the king's food and wine, was to reveal multiple things...but resulting in one main objective.

Daniel wanted to treat his body as the image of God. We have been created to live as men and women, created in God's image. If God sat down everyday and ate meal after meal, without limits or restraint, we would find that God is selfish and irresponsible. Our bodies are temples of God...how we treated our bodies reflects our love and appreciation for God.

Daniel also wanted to show that God would provide his needs through just the basic needs. Sure Daniel could have sat down and been overly stuffed with the king's food and drink, but he knew that it wasn't part of God's plan. God promises to provide for his people. Through vegetables and water, Daniel and his friends went ten days and proved to the king that by continuing down the path they were on, would be unhealthy and deadly. You know that feeling you get on Thanksgiving where you feel like your heart will stop at any moment, your blood is barely moving along, and your abdomen could burst open at any given moment. This is this lifestyle that these men were living under the king's order.

Besides the health and nutritional viewpoints in this passage, the big thing that stands out to me is that we can take this story and apply it in so many different areas of our lives. The world (the king) is constantly offering us the 'finer things' that turn our heads and please us for the time being. We have an option in this situation:

We can partake in what the king has offered us and live in a self-satisfying way

or

We can decline all the worldly riches and trust in the basic needs that God promises to his people.

Are we less human if we don't drive a 2011 BMW or Mercedes? Are we less important if we don't own a boat? Am I a failure if I don't have 5 different credit cards and a 3D TV in my bathroom?

If I have a relationship with Christ...I cannot fail.

At the end of the passage we discover that God blessed Daniel with the knowledge and ability to interpret dreams. This is his gift that God has given him. He trusted God, took a leap of faith, resulting in blessings from God.

The Lord wants to use his people in ways to bring glory to his kingdom and make his Son known to the world. If I live by the world and partake in the sinful desires that tempt me, I cannot bear fruit and utilize my spiritual gifts.

The king offers you temporary contentment and satisfaction. The King of Kings offers you eternal embrace, life, joy, peace, forgiveness, and most importantly a relationship that WILL NOT fail.