Daniel 1:17-21 – The impact of godly living

Godly living enables us to impact lives. In Daniel 1:17-21, this is demonstrated through the lives of Daniel and his three friends. Because of their commitment to live for God in godliness, they were each personally blessed in every department of their lives. They were blessed in body, mind, and spirit. Besides that, God also used them to influence and impact the life of Nebuchadnezzar. Verse 21 said that Daniel had the privilege of serving until the first year of King Cyrus, which meant that he had the opportunity to other kings up to that time.   

This is how the four friends were blessed. Earlier in verse 15, we learned that God had blessed them physically. It says their “appearance seemed better, and they were fatter than all the youths.” Now verse 17 indicates that they were mentally sharper, wiser, and had depth in learning and great acumen in understanding. And spiritually, they were given the unique gift and unusual skill of interpreting dreams and visions. This is the result of their steep commitment and deep connection with God.  

These four friends though young were way ahead of their peers in skill and wisdom.  This was attested to be superior by the king himself. He found this from his personal interview with them in verse 19. He discovered them to be ten times better than his older Babylonian magicians and conjurors. So he put them into his personal service.

Verse 21 says that Daniel served until the first year of King Cyrus. This would mean that he literally impacted the lives of two other kings. He served King Nebuchadnezzar, then King Nabonidus in chapter 4, and finally King Belshazzar in chapter 5.

Holy living builds our character and enables us to become useful and effective instruments of God. With a holy life, we will be a more impactful witness. Practicing holy living means apart from making time for God and His Word, we also need to take advantage of trials we encounter and allow God to shape our character through them.