When God Calls You to Stand

But Daniel sresolved that he would not tdefile himself with kthe king’s food, or with lthe wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to tdefile himself.- Daniel 1:8 (NLT)

What we learn from the many biblical examples provided to us is that God can distinguish us with a divine destiny.  We don’t have to walk long with the Lord before we feel the spiritual tug on our lives and find ourselves marked for an assignment by Master.  He uses whomever He chooses.

It is so with Daniel as we read this familiar text from the Scriptures.  Circumstances and situations collide and culminate in cornucopia of change, change that is caused by being called out from among the crowd by the Creator.  So we find young Daniel among those marked by a secular king to expand and extend an earthly kingdom but simultaneously handpicked by the spiritual King of kings to exemplify and express a heavenly kingdom.  Daniel was distinguished for a divine destiny, for God indeed had called him to stand. Yes, He hose daniel to stand for truth with integrity and to stand for God amid idolatrous defilement.  God had called on this young man to lead a spiritual stand against impurity.  The fact of the matter is that God has called on many of us stand…in the courtroom, at the school district, in college lecture halls, in community meetings, even at the barbershop and the beauty shop.  God has called on His people to stand…to stand for Him in dark times and to stand on His promises even where you see no provision.

So what happens when God calls you stand?

• He will cause you to stand up

Daniel has a turning point in this text that sets him apart from the other young men. The Word simply says: “Daniel purposed in his heart not to defile himself.” It’s an internal decision before his external demonstration.  It’s a personal resolution before it is a public result. You see something happened in Daniel’s heart before anything came out of his mouth.  Therefore, when Daniel did speak, God had already stirred something within him before he started something through him.    If God calls you to stand, He will cause you to stand up for Him and to His glory.  If you want to test where somebody’s standing, look and see who’s going to get the glory.  That’ll tell you all you need to know.  We are to stand up but stand up for God and the purpose He has given us, seeking nothing for ourselves.

• …to stand out

After approved and acted on, Daniel and his comrades appeared to stand out from the rest.  Their countenance glowed differently than the others.  The appeared healthier than their counterparts.  God caused them to stand out.   What we take into our bodies has an effect on us, particularly in our appearance.  Take in junk and you start showing signs of how junk is affecting you.

• … to stand above

So in the end we that God will cause you to stand up and He’ll cause you to stand out.  But what’s real impressive about God is that He’ll even cause you to stand above.  Daniel and his friends stood out so much that they stood above the other young men.  In fact when presented before the king they were even standing above those who the king already had in place. like astrologers and magicians.  God uses these young men proved to be a cut above all of those as well.  You see when take a stand for God based upon His calling you, He can cause you to stand above…He can cause you to stand above your circumstances…your situation…your health condition…your socioeconomic status…your education level…your marital status…even when you don’t believe in yourself, you better believe in God…He can cause you to stand above it all.

Amen.