Our Reasonable Service
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cannot resist temptation, with every facility which has been placed
within his reach, is not registered in the books of heaven as a man.
The Lord never places men in positions so trying that it is beyond their
power to withstand evil. Divine power is ever ready to protect and
strengthen him who has been made a partaker of the divine nature.
Temptations to the indulgence of appetite possess a power which
can be overcome only by the help that God can impart. But with every
temptation we have the promise of God that there shall be a way of
escape. Why, then, are so many overcome? It is because they do not
put their trust in God. They do not avail themselves of the means
provided for their safety. The excuses offered for the gratification of
perverted appetite, are therefore of no weight with God.
Daniel valued his human capabilities, but he did not trust in them.
His trust was in that strength which God has promised to all who will
come to him in humble dependence, relying wholly upon his power.
He purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the
portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank; for he
knew that such a diet would not strengthen his physical powers or
increase his mental capability. He would not use wine, nor any other
unnatural stimulant; he would do nothing to becloud his mind; and
God gave him “knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom,” and
also “understanding in all visions and dreams.” [
Daniel 1:17
.]
[23]
In later years the cares of state were heavy upon him, he was taxed
to the utmost of his capacity; but he grew strong in the conflict with
difficulties. He held fast by the hand of Infinite Strength, and would
not be overcome. He knew that in order to do his work well, he must
have help from God. He realized that amid his trials and persecutions
he could not walk apart from God one hour. He prayed three times
a day, and God answered his prayers. Daniel’s purpose was known
to the heavenly Watcher, and as Daniel placed himself on the side of
God, to keep his ways, the Lord placed himself on Daniel’s side, to
keep him.
Daniel’s parents had trained him in his childhood to habits of strict
temperance. They had taught him that he must conform to nature’s laws
in all his habits; that his eating and drinking had a direct influence upon
his physical, mental, and moral nature, and that he was accountable
to God for his capabilities; for he held them all as a gift from God,
and must not, by any course of action, dwarf or cripple them. As