Determined to Honor

Our confidence and pride we hold as believers need to have a distinct internal strength in us. The prayer of Jesus before he would be arrested and crucified contained a request that God would keep us “from the evil one” because, like Him, we are not of this world (John 17:14-16). To live differently from the world around you takes focus and determination to deal with the world around you with a kingdom vision in mind.
This focus and determination can be found in the life of Daniel. In the first chapter, a clear and present culture shock is explained as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azeriah were taken from their land as youths and placed in a new land, and everything from food to even their names was changed overnight. We may be willing to go to another country to work for the gospel, but to be hastily uprooted, with no return date, and forced to be given new and unknown customs given to you would not be a soothing environment. “But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8). We must decide for ourselves to resist defiling ourselves with the culture of the world around us and honor God.  
In the challenge of combating the culture, we need to remember the promises of the Lord: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). In order to combat an outside world, the honor for God needs to be healthy and prominent in our lives.