Purposed In His Heart

“Purposed In His Heart” - Daniel 1:8

What Daniel “purposed in his heart” as a young man in captivity was negative - “he would/might not defile himself.” Not all purposes in life involve positive thinking or having a positive attitude FOR something, but rather, it is a good thing to be purposed AGAINST certain things. In this case, he would not be defiled. After Daniel purposed in his heart, he was willing to put his convictions to the test by being “proved” for 10 days (verses 12-14). In the end, Daniel proved that obeying God is better than obeying men, and where God leads, he provides. The last time the word “purposed” shows up in the OT is here in Daniel 1:8. The next time it shows up is in Acts 19:21 when a man named Paul was “purposed in the spirit,” which is synonymous with being purposed in the heart. He was purposed again in Acts 20:3, and then in Romans 1:13, we read that “oftentimes” Paul was purposed “but was let (hindered) hitherto.” He was purposed to preach the gospel, to prove all things to be true concerning Jesus Christ, and to produce fruit in the lives of his converts. If you are purposed to serve God, like Daniel and Paul, then you can expect hindrances, temptations, skepticism, mockery, and “let-downs,” but those things are there to prove your sincerity and obedience to God. In the end, we can have “boldness and access with confidence by the faith” in the things that we purpose for God “According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Ephesians 3:11-12) Psalm 17:3 - Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.