Own Your Faith

Daniel 1:8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

Our faith has to be our own. We cannot follow Christ because that is what we have done since we were a child or because our parents and grandparents did. We cannot follow Him because we feel that Church is a good influence on our kids or because we are ‘suppose to’. We have to own our faith. In the book of Daniel, we are introduced to Hebrew young men that owned their faith. The first attribute that stands out is the fact that their faith was important regardless of where they were. These young men were in a foreign country as captives. They easily could have said that our lives depend on acting a certain way. Instead, they trusted God to care for them regardless of the circumstances. Next, we see that the Faith of Daniel and his friends was important regardless of the consequences. Daniel took a big risk in Daniel 1:8 refusing to eat what the king had provided. Everyone would assume that the king new best and to question that meant that you personally doubt the king’s knowledge. For Daniel to own his faith meant that he could experience very painful consequences, but his faith was more important. Noticed that verse 8 says that he purposed in his heart. Daniel made an intentional decision. We have to decide that we are following Jesus regardless of where that leads and what it might cost us. If we wait until we hear the assignment we do not truly trust God to care for us and believe that we need to decide what is best for us. We should know that Daniel did not pick a fight with those over him, he made a request. Just because we make a stand based on our faith, does not mean we have to be loud or belligerent. For Daniel his relationship to God was more important than life itself. How important is our relationship to God? Do we pursue God only when it is convenient or when there is nothing else to do? Do we place a priority on pursing God? Do we trust God enough to follow Him where ever He leads, or do we wait to decide in the moment if we will follow Him? Owning our faith requires us to be intentional, devoted, and believe that following God is the only option for our lives.