Daniel 6:3-4
Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.

Daniel wasn’t promoted and favored for great and heroic acts on a battlefield or elsewhere. He didn’t rise to the top through manipulation, scheming, or trampling on other people. Even his God-given ability to interpret dreams wasn’t what made him successful in Babylon. It was his character and his faithfulness that made him stand out. It was his dependability and integrity that made kings entrust their kingdoms to his oversight. And as his antagonists rightly discerned, it was his relationship with God that made him the man he was.

In a way, that is comforting, because it means we can be like Daniel in our generation. We, too, can live our lives without compromising what is good and righteous to do. We can live without following the ways of the world and imitating their evil ways just to get ahead. We can build lives of integrity and faithfulness right where we are and trust the Lord to protect us and help us if attacks come upon us.

Daniel was certainly in a less-than-ideal situation. After all, he was a captive in a foreign land, having been taken from his home and his family. Yet he persevered and endured by relying on God in all of the challenges he faced. Beneath the surface in Daniel’s life was a commitment to God and His Word, a willingness to obey, to seek, to pray, and to praise. And all of those things can be present in our lives, as well, and bear the fruit of faithfulness and an excellent spirit within us.