Even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. Psalm 139:12.

We have come to one of my favorite books, the Book of Daniel. As I was reading the introduction and history, I couldn’t help but think about how Daniel descended from a once proud nation that was led by a faithful King, David. And because that nation descended into corruption and turning away from the worship of God alone, Daniel is taken captive in a 500-mile trek to a foreign, powerful nation. And Daniel is faithful to God there. Daniel shows us what faithfulness to Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, looks like. Daniel 1…In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. These he carried off to the temple of his god in Babylonia and put in the treasure house of his god. Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility – young men without any physical defect, handsome, showing aptitude for every kind of learning, well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace. He was to teach them the language and literature of the Babylonians. 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. Among those who were chosen were some from Judah: Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. The chief official gave them new names: to Daniel, the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abednego. v. 1-7. These four men found favor with the chief official over them. And I love how it said that Daniel resolved not to defile himself with the royal food and wine, v. 8-16. I love that word, resolve! So Daniel asked for a test to prove to the official that a diet of vegetables and water would not harm them. He agreed and they were found more healthy looking after 10 days than those eating the king’s food and wine. To these four young men God gave knowledge and understanding of all kinds of literature and learning. And Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds. At the end of the time set by the king to bring them into his service, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked with them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom. And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus. v. 17-21.

And just as there was corruption and intrigue in Judah, so it is in Babylon, and in every nation of men then and now. Do we resolve to be like the nations we live in and their leaders who do not fear God, or do we understand as did Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah that Creator God is Sovereign over all nations and people. Even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You. Our God sees the corruption and intrigues in every nation of every age and it is all the same. Darkness. In The Chosen there is a scene between the characters playing Mary Magdalene and Matthew when they are much older. Mary needed to write down her own thoughts about her experiences before Jesus cast out 7 demons from her, about the darkness she experienced personally. I loved how she said, darkness is not just the absence of light, it’s more sinister and evil than that. And when we look at this world broken by sin and evil, it helps to remember the faithful resolve of Daniel and his three friends who loved the Lord our God so much they trusted Him for everything as they lived in a world that did not know God. They knew Him. That was enough. And the light from their faithful resolve to obey God, who is Light, transformed the world they now lived in. Every chapter of Daniel shows God at work and it is breathtaking to behold!