I lifted my eyes and looked, and
behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was
girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. Daniel 10:5
Daniel...my youngest daughter was named
after him...Courtney Danielle...and it means God is my Judge. We
think of him being bold and courageous. We see him given power after
meeting the test of his faith and after being jealously lied about.
He was like Joseph...second in command and highly favored. But the
sight of a man in linen brought him to his knees.
Actually, he had been on his knees
already at this point. He was a man of troubled soul. God revealed to
him many things about the future of his countrymen. He was told of
the future troubles that would overtake the Jews in particular, and
the whole world eventually. These were going to be troubling times,
and Daniel was overwhelmed at the thought. He was a man of prayer. He
asked God questions, pleaded for his people's faith, and mourned over
the sins of his people. He had been mourning and praying, fasting and
weak, sick of soul. The thought of the sufferings to come had
overwhelmed him. Now granted, this was God talking to him about the
future, which means it's all good, right? Obviously not. And we take
that outlook ourselves. Our church is starting the series “Follow
Me” by David Platt. And the question set before us is do we trust
God enough to follow...to accept where He is taking us...knowing that
the end is the cross and sufferings, but ultimately, a joy
irrepressible. The idea of having to go through the bad to get to the
good is hard to swallow. And Daniel was having a hard time dealing
with all of this.
And God met him at the point of his
need. The fight was on in the heavenlies, and the messenger was
delayed in coming. Daniel suffered alone. He fought on his knees. And
the answer came in bright white clothes and a loud roaring sound.
This dazzling figure was more than he could take. Now not only was he
overwhelmed with grief, he was overwhelmed with fear. Poor guy. But a
gentle touch, words of encouragement and comfort, and a hand up
greeted him. God heard his pleas to understand, to accept the
thoughts of God, and He responded.
There have been many nights where I
have been burdened greatly for my family, my church, my community,
and my country. I would toss and turn, seeing prophecies fulfilled
and yet questioning where all this would lead. It is a great comfort
and a great humbling process to see God answer my prayers for
understanding of these things. It doesn't all come in a blazing
light. Sometimes it comes in a rainbow, a caught baseball, and change
in tone in someone's voice, or an unexpected video clip. It can come
out of the mouth of the most vile actors or the most saintly
servants. But God reminds us that He is there, that He sees our
concerns, and that He has the answers all planned out. We just have
to remember who is God in this process and that we do not need to see
and understand it all. Why we think we can understand the mind of God
is a mystery and a folly, really. Even when He answers, it tends to
put more questions in our mind. This happens to me just as it
happened to Daniel...”OK, God, now that You have shown me this
much, what about that?” And He just says, “Trust Me. That's all
you get to know for now.” And still the human heart churns to know
all the ways of God. We still remain troubled to an extent, but there
is still the gentle touch and comforting words to help us carry on,
to trust to the extent that a human can trust. I love Daniel. I can
relate to Daniel. His past experience with God drew him close to God,
and his heart for his people longed for them to have that same
relationship. His walk with God was personal and trusting, but he was
still human in his longings for God's mind and heart and ways.
And sometimes those longings present
themselves in people that fascinate us who shed light on God's will
and ways. David Platt is taking me there right now. He is not dressed
in shiny white robes. In fact, he is dressed downright casually,
sitting with a Bible and an I-Pad and preaching the Words of God
which both comfort and disturb the human mind. But God is answering
some of the questions that I have been asking through him. And it is
always a blessing when God speaks to the point of our need. Let Him
speak to you. Open the Book, listen to wise preaching, and ask God to
talk to the questions you have. The answers may not come all at once,
for we could not handle it if it did. But He will renew your mind,
give the grace to accept all of God's ways as Good, and draw us
closer than we have ever been to His loving side.
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