He is my Delight

Daniel 6:12-13 And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?” The king answered and said, “The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which does not alter.” So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is one of the captives from Judah, does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

Can you sense the disdain in their words – “that Daniel”. At this point Daniel had been in a position of governmental authority for somewhere around 50 years. Yet they’ve identified him not by his accomplishments, but as one of the captives from Judah. It’s true that’s where Daniel came from. But God had worked in this man’s life mightily, and he wasn’t a teenage boy from a foreign land anymore. He was a man greatly gifted and used by God to help govern the affairs of the most powerful kingdom in the world. But the enemy who was trying to destroy him was also happy to humiliate him in the process.

We’ve all got a few skeletons in the closet from our old life. Before I became a new creation I was an old wretch. But those old things don’t define me. That might be where I came from but it’s not who I am. Only one thing defines me – Christ, Who is my life.

We can’t control what people think about us or what they say about us. But if we are walking with Jesus the testimony of that life will speak louder than anyone’s words.