Introduction to Living Faithful in a Faithless Land

Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? It may be that your values and beliefs are not appreciated. In fact, they may be actively opposed. Sister, you are not alone. This world is not our forever home. It is only a shadow of what is to come. Yet we are called to live here. Our lives are meant to be different as we faithfully surrender our days to God. 

Within the book of Daniel, God’s people were living through turmoil. They thought how they lived didn’t matter. After many warnings, God allowed His people to be defeated. The Babylonians took over, and they carried to Babylon the young, the noble, and those they deemed useful. Their aim was to train them in the ways of Babylon. 

We’ll learn how these young men reacted to living in a place so different to what they had known. Though the people were likely tempted to isolate once in Babylon or begin to blend in with the surrounding culture, God called His people to faithfully live where He has placed them. They were to seek to bless the city and people around them by pointing others to God. God wanted to transform His people’s hearts. 

In the same way, God wants us to walk this path, too. While we eagerly await the return of Jesus, we are to seek to bless the people around us by pointing them to Jesus. We are to surrender our days to Christ and allow the Holy Spirit to be at work developing our character, the attitude of our hearts, and how we choose to live through the different seasons of life. 

Despite numerous difficult days, Daniel remained faithful in both small and larger challenges. His life was distinctive as he faithfully told the whole nation about God’s power. At the end of the book, God gave Daniel visions, but He encouraged him that good will triumph at the end of time. God had a plan to redeem His people. 

Have you ever considered that God has placed you where you are, among the people you meet for a distinct purpose? God made you unique. He loves and values you. You can live a distinctively different life that confidently points people to the One who saves. May this study help you to grow in your knowledge and love of our faithful, steadfast God as He transforms your heart to being more like Christ and to live faithfully in a faithless world.