Anyone who attended Sunday school as a child remembers learning about young Daniel and his friends. Their resolve to do right impacted many generations. Today, consider another angle: the impact they had on one another.
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were captured by the Babylonians and chosen for special training and preparation for their new king’s service. They were far from home, far from relatives or anyone familiar, far from anyone who could judge them for wanting to fit in to the strange culture or striving to please in their new opportunities. However, when faced with the first requirement of them which would violate their God’s law, they didn’t cave. They requested a temporary release from the prescribed diet and offered to be tested at the conclusion of the release. Of course, God gave them special strength and they passed the test.
In Daniel 2, we read of King Nebuchadnezzar’s frustration with his wise men who could not tell him his dream and its interpretation. His frustration turned to fury, and he ordered all the wise men killed. Daniel asked to be allowed time to determine the dream and its meaning, and the king granted the request. Daniel then asked his three friends to pray that God would give him knowledge and wisdom greater than himself. God answered that prayer by revealing the dream and its interpretation to Daniel, and their lives were saved along with the lives of the other wise men.
In Daniel 3, a time when Daniel was probably serving the king at a distant place, the other three friends were commanded to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image. Rather than disobey their God, and despite their not knowing whether they would live or die, they refused to bow and were thrown into the fiery furnace. God’s miraculous protection meant they emerged from the furnace without even the scent of smoke.
In all these instances, the friends acted together. Nothing they faced was easy; but consider how much greater their strength and resolve could be when standing beside each of them was a teammate, a crew member with whom to pray, a friend with the same godly desire to face death rather than sin against God.
Think of decisions before you today, temptations you may face, difficulties which could cross your path. If your desire is to glorify God with your life, evaluate whether those beside you would strengthen that resolve. Would the friend who sits across the table from you at lunch or joins you for a hike up the mountain, or the friend whom you message when something important happens, encourage you to turn to the Scriptures, to do the right thing no matter what? Then reflect on whether you are the teammate your friend needs to help him honor God and make the right choice. A friend who strengthens resolve to honor God: find one and be one.