Dan. 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself.......

Dan. 1:8 But Daniel made up his mind not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief official for permission to eat other things instead.

Daniel did not wait until he was faced with temptation before he decided whether to yield or not; he made up his mind before the temptation to sin ever came.  What a powerful lesson for us to learn!  In order to live victoriously, we must decide the course of our lives and stick to it. 

We must determine that we are not going to put ourselves into tempting situations in the first place.  We can’t avoid all temptations to sin, but we can help ourselves out a lot by choosing to not put ourselves into temptation’s way.  Daniel knew that the way of the king was wrong for him.  He knew that there was a better way and he chose it for himself, in spite of the consequences that may come from it.  He knew that the king was in control and you obeyed him, or else, but that did not keep Daniel from choosing to do what was right before God. 

We can avoid so many sins by determining in our hearts beforehand that we will do what we know God wants us to do regardless of what may happen.  Others may not understand our choices, they may mock us, they may pressure us to back down, or they may try to make our lives miserable for us, but we must stand strong on our commitment to obey God and not man.  We must be willing to give up the pleasures of the world and chose to obey God.

Don’t be wishy washy in this.  Choose to be like Daniel and make up your mind right now that you will always do what is pleasing and acceptable to God.  Before temptation strikes, determine in your heart that you will do what is right before God.  It does not matter what others may think; it matters what God thinks.  It does not matter what others may do; do what is right before God.  You will stand before God someday and give an account for the choices you make.