Daniel was carried as a young man to the land of his enemies and was selected (along with three of his friends) to serve in the king’s palace. Wow! Talk about someone who needed those “three years of training” (Dan. 1:5) to know how to fit in with his new country and new job and new environment and new associates. He needed to change a lot of who he was to “fit in”! Right?
Wrong! In the eighth verse of that first chapter, “Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself,” and he took steps (even making requests for an exemption) to make sure that he didn’t defile himself and that others wouldn’t cause him to do so. Uh-oh! Did he create trouble for himself? Nope! Ten days later, the king himself recognized that “among them all none was found like Daniel” and his friends (1:19).
Have you made up your mind and taken steps to make sure you don’t defile yourself against God? It can be done! It must be done!