How can God’s people thrive in a world that tries to squeeze us into its mold, especially when it seems that the values of that culture have triumphed? When the book of Daniel opens, it looks like evil had won. Jerusalem is sacked. The king is captured. Treasures from Yahweh’s temple lie under the shadow of the Babylonian gods. And Judah’s best and brightest young men are enrolled in a rigorous program of cultural assimilation. At the end of Daniel 1, however, we learn that Daniel outlasted an empire. Not only did Daniel survive: he thrived. This passage teaches us his secret. Daniel knew that when evil seems to win, God is the true ruler—and he has a part for his people to play.