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Daily Devotion

Obeying God

Make it a daily habit to spend time with God in the Word, and you'll be ready for the inevitable challenges of life.

March 17, 2023

Daniel 1:1-8

The story of Daniel illustrates some key elements of obedience. The young man knew that God’s law had dietary restrictions prohibiting food that had been offered to idols, yet now he was in foreign land with no such limitations. When King Nebuchadnezzar ordered that food from his table be given to Daniel, that posed a dilemma: Was it better to obey the Lord and risk angering the king or to disobey God and please the ruler? 

The underlying issue was allegiance to God. Daniel could have rationalized breaking the divine command by telling himself he was a servant and had no choice. Instead, he resolved not to eat the royal food and sought a solution that would honor the Lord and keep His law. 

Today, many things that our world finds acceptable are outside God’s will for His children. The struggle comes down to this: Our desire as Christians is to obey the Lord, whereas our fleshly side wants to please ourselves. However, obeying God is always the right choice. 

To become like Daniel, we must consistently apply Scripture to our decision-making. Then, when challenges come, we’ll have the courage to obey God’s commands.  

Bible in One Year: Judges 13-15

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