Daily Devotion
Undefiled in the Midst of Wickedness
By David Wilkerson
Guest Writer
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” (Daniel 1:8).
The word defile here suggests “freeing through repudiation.” Daniel was saying, “Any compromise of my standards will rob me of my freedom.” So he committed to eat only beans and drink only water for ten days.
When the chief of the eunuchs learned this, he told Daniel, “You are going to cost me my life! You will look sickly at the end of ten days. Your cheeks will be sunken, and the king will surely notice. Here, eat just a little meat. You need the protein. Drink the wine to build up your blood. Eat some of these sweets to give you energy!”
I believe Daniel and the three Hebrew men had something more in mind than avoiding being ceremonially unclean. They had been taken captive along with thousands of their countrymen. What they saw when they first arrived in Babylon must have shocked them beyond belief. It was a society so loose, immoral and full of wickedness, these four men’s spiritual sensibilities were assailed.
They made a commitment with each other: “We dare not compromise. We will be separate from society and disciplined in our walk of faith.” They did not go about preaching their way of life to others. It was strictly a matter between them and God.
When you are in a crisis, do you cry out in unbelief and frustration? What if the Lord should answer, “I need strong voices in these sinful times through whom I can speak. Where are you when I need a voice? You say you want Me to come to your crisis—yet you remain a part of the wicked, worldly system. Tell Me—are you committed to My purposes?”
Daniel and his friends’ witness was a testimony that turned all the people’s heads around. They were delivered from the lions’ den and the fiery furnace—and the whole society knew it was God who did it.
How to Stand Up and Fight
With all the talk going on in churches about spiritual warfare, Christians still have not learned how to stand up to the enemy. We are pushovers for the devil!
I do not believe every misfortune that befalls a Christian comes from the enemy. We wrongly blame Satan for a lot of our own carelessness, disobedience and laziness.
Let me tell you something of Satan’s strategy: If he cannot pull the Almighty out of His throne, he will try to tear God’s image out of you—turning worshipers into murmurers and blasphemers.
Satan cannot attack you at will. God has put a wall of fire around His children, and the devil cannot go beyond that wall without God’s permission.
Satan cannot read a Christian’s mind. Some people are afraid to pray because they think the devil can read their every thought. Not so! Only God is omnipresent and omniscient.
Scripture commands us to stand up, be strong and do battle against our flesh and the devil: “Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13). “Brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). Simply put, we have to become fed up with being held down by the devil—fed up with being depressed, joyless, empty, harassed.
In Judges 6:1–6 we see the Israelites at their lowest point ever. They were driven to living in dark caves, starving, scared and helpless. Then something happened. It started with Gideon and spread throughout the whole camp: Israel got sick and tired of hiding in those dark caves!
Something rose up within Gideon—and he finally said what God was waiting to hear: “We serve a mighty, victorious God. Why do we go on, day after day, taking this abuse?”
God will not do anything until you are thoroughly disgusted with being oppressed by the enemy—until you are sick and tired of being sick and tired. You have to do as Gideon did—cry out to the Lord!
World Challenge, Inc. © 2012. Used by permission.
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 David Wilkerson (1931-2011) was the founder of Teen Challenge and World Challenge and longtime senior pastor of Times Square Church. He authored more than 30 books, including the bestselling The Cross and the Switchblade, Knowing God by Name and God is Faithful. He ministered to people worldwide, and on the day of his death, he was still ministering.
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