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Read: Daniel 1:8-16
Listen: Daniel 1

He asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself this way. Daniel 1:8

Daniel and his friends find themselves far from home, serving a king they did not choose, in a culture very different from their own. They are citizens of two kingdoms – Babylon and God’s. At times, these kingdoms collide. Daniel is expected to eat the king’s food and drink his wine. Eating that food meant breaking God’s dietary laws, and Daniel was committed to honoring God even in small decisions. Instead of reacting with disrespect, Daniel acts with humility. He asks permission to follow a different diet. His conviction is firm, but his attitude is gracious. He holds fast to God’s truth while showing respect to the people around him. God honors Daniel’s faithfulness by giving him favor with the chief official (Daniel 1:9).

Daniel’s story reminds us to approach conflict with grace and truth. We also live in two kingdoms. We belong to Jesus, but we move through workplaces, schools, teams and communities daily. Sometimes the values of God’s kingdom conflict with the expectations around us. When that happens, we can respond as Daniel did – with conviction grounded in God’s Word and with grace that reflects God’s heart. Jesus teaches us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done” (Matthew 6:10), inviting God’s ways to shape our choices.

TODAY: Identify one situation in your week when you feel tension between cultural expectations and God’s values. Pray this throughout as you enter that situation: “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven,” and trust God with the outcome. Explore Daniels’s story further on the Beyond the Weekend Podcast—find it wherever you listen to podcasts or on YouTube.