He was a young boy taken captive by a foreign power. The nation of his birth was destroyed. That was the nation God had raised up to be a testimony to the world. Now it no longer existed. His parents were probably killed and it seems he had no close relatives.
This new environment had a goal of making captives conform to its religion and politics. He was castrated, then sent to school to learn the ways of this strange and godless nation. How much could a young person take?
You would think that with all that was against him, he would just conform or die. That was not the case. In spite of his situation, his faith in the one true God was unshakable.
Daniel 1:8
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
The word “purpose” defined: to have as one’s intention or objective. Daniel’s purpose was clearly seen even into old age.
What’s your purpose?
Think about it.
Gary