“But Daniel (Dan. 1:8) … Now God” (v. 9); Daniel and God belong together! Here we find a picture of our faithfulness to God and His faithfulness to us. Here is a believer for whom the meaning of his name was his life’s program: Daniel means, “My judge is God.” He was aware that God saw everything he did; that his life was being assessed. The result of that knowledge was not fear, but faithfulness.

Daniel knew God’s standards. He knew what was clean and what was unclean before Him. How can we live according to the will of God if we only have vague, unclear ideas about His will—in other words, if we do not know the Word of God?

But that was not all: Daniel’s heart also belonged to His God. And it was there that he made a firm decision to be faithful: “Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself.” It is the same today: knowledge alone is not enough, but the heart must be the deciding factor. If this belongs to God, then our lives belong to Him too. The answer to this faithfulness came immediately: “Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.” Daniel had a God who rewarded faithfulness. And we have the same God!