Deeper Reflection
God is writing a distinct story of each of our lives. How do we read that distinct story? Every biblical narrative is written to be read in four interrelated dimensions, as illustrated in this episode of Daniel’s story (vv.8-16). And we can read our distinct story in these four dimensions.The context of almost every biblical narrative is crisis. For Daniel, it is about eating “the king’s choice food” (vv.8, 13, 15, 16). Biblical discipleship is highly crisis-oriented. Maturing in Christ is the clear divine agenda. And character is formed through crises.The first dimension is the divine part: “God gave Daniel favor and compassion” (v.9). God is central in our distinct story. The fundamental life principle question must be: “Where is God in this?” The second dimension is the human part: “Daniel resolved not to defile himself ” (v.8, NIV). We are to ensure that we walk with God faithfully day by day.The third and fourth dimension are the big picture – verses 8 to 16 as a whole and the progressing journey – as the story unfolds progressively from verse 8 to verse 16. God in His sovereign wisdom leads us one step at a time, with us oftentimes not knowing what He is doing and where we are going. On Christmas Day in 1980, I had a very painful breakup in a relationship which involved a third party. But it was not until more than 30 years later that I saw the divine purpose for that heart-breaking crisis: God was beginning to set the stage for me to answer my call to full-time ministry.