A Matter of the Heart

    "But Daniel set in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king’s choice food or with the wine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. Now God granted Daniel lovingkindness and compassion before the commander of the officials, and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, 'I am afraid of my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the youths who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king'” - Daniel 1:8-10.

    God was carrying out His long promised judgment and discipline on His Old Testament children Israel. He had chosen them to share the good news of His coming Messiah with the nations of the world... "He says, 'It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to cause the preserved ones of Israel to return; I will also give You as a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth'" - Isaiah 49:6. But they had consistently rebelled against Him in substituting other gods in their worship, elevating themselves into the place of gods, and disrespecting the value of human life. As a loving Father, God had warned them and now was disciplining them... "For whom Yahweh loves He reproves, even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights" Proverbs 3:12 (see also Hebrews 12:6). While many were praying for a revival His mercy, few were answering His call for a personal return to holiness and righteousness. To be holy and right with God is truly a matter of the heart.

    "But Daniel set in His heart that he would not defile himself" - Daniel 1:8. Daniel understood that in order for a nation to be set apart from other nations unto the special privilege and responsibility of the Lord's work, the individual hearts of the members of that nation must be set apart unto the Lord. Perhaps he was raised in a holy family or he discovered and surrendered to the truth of God's Word as he heard it. Despite the collapse and captivity of the nation around him, and despite his own personal enslavement to a foreign culture, Daniel was still "set in his heart" to remain set apart to His true Heavenly Father. As a result, despite his physical imprisonment in Babylon, he was in the perfect position to be used of God as a prophet to foreign kings and officials, an exhorter of the remnant of God's faithful children, and a witness to the unholy culture that surrounded him.

    Let's face the truth. Today, America has become a reflection of the same sins that had consumed Israel. In addition, many in America are vocally and violently attacking Israel and defending her terrorist enemies. There are many faithful New Testament children of God ("as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" - John 1:12) praying for a national revival. I hope you are among them. But God is still searching for individuals who are willing to surrender their hearts to Him, to be set apart and available to be His prophets, exhorters, and witnesses to the collapsing culture that surrounds them, wherever He may place them. To be like Daniel, we must be set in our hearts that we will not defile ourselves, because to be part of the answer to the prayer for revival is truly a matter of the heart.