God's Word the Foundation for Character Building, June 16

Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink ... and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. Daniel 1:12, 13. Daniel placed himself in right relation to God and to his outward circumstances and opportunities. He was taken as a captive to Babylon, and with others was placed under training, to be prepared for a place in the king's court. His food and drink were appointed him, but we read that he determined that he would not defile himself with the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank. In taking this step, Daniel did not act rashly.... Daniel said to Melzar, who had been given charge of him and his companions, “Prove thy servants.... And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat of the portion of the king's meat.” ... Having done this, Daniel and his companions did still more. They did not choose as friends those who were agents of the prince of darkness. They did not go with a multitude to do evil. They secured Melzar as their friend, and there was no friction between him and them. They went to him for advice, and at the same time educated him by the wisdom of their deportment. It was God's purpose that these youth should become channels of light in the kingdom of Babylon. Satan was determined to defeat this purpose. He worked upon the minds of the youth who had refused to be God's representatives, causing them to be jealous of Daniel and his companions. At Satan's suggestion they laid plans to entrap those who were making such steady, rapid advancement in knowledge.... Satan was trying to compass their destruction.... They made a faithful study of the Word of God, that they might know the divine will. By faith they believed that the One whom they served would communicate to them His will, and in answer to their faith God opened His Word to them.... They made the Word of God their textbook, looking upon it as the foundation upon which they must build character. They had only the Old Testament.... Satan often cast his shadow across their pathway to obscure their view of divine light and darken their faith and confidence in God. But they would not yield, and the Lord gave them wisdom and power to prevail with Him in prayer.—Letter 34, 1900.