“Then he said to me, ‘Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.’” – Daniel 10:12
As we continue reading Daniel chapter 10, the angel that visits Daniel says, “Fear not.” This is the number one command in the whole Bible. Why? Because God knows we need to hear it over and over again. God gives Daniel, and us, peace and courage. This is a divine gift from the Spirit of God. Daniel’s external circumstances hadn’t changed, but his internal circumstances had changed.
What got Daniel through his crisis will get you through your crisis:
- The ministry of presence from God. God was present with Daniel and will be present with you. He’ll never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:8). God sent an angel to be present with Daniel as he was alone and sends the Holy Spirit to do the same for you. Even when alone, Christians are not isolated because God’s presence is with us.
- He was reminded he was “greatly loved” and that his suffering was not personal. When our lives are hit with pain and trials, we can think it is personal. As Daniel experienced, his personal pain was not a personal penalty from God.
- A humble heart that prays is heard and responded to by God.
- A reminder to fear not. The most common command in the Bible is, in some form or fashion, “fear not.”
- A strengthening touch from God brings peace and courage. Daniel saw a vision of what was coming to the world that he could not change or control. This left him restless and anxious. God did not change his external circumstances but touched him, which changed his internal circumstances. The same is true for you.
- A reminder of the reality of spiritual warfare in the world. Behind all the bad news Daniel received and we’ve been receiving is ultimately a lengthy battle between God and Satan that shows up in human death and destruction on earth.
- A focus on the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and the battle to get home. The entire storyline of Daniel was the fight for God’s people to worship God in the house of God until they could go to their eternal Home. Every day, our fight is to do the same: worship God by faith until we see God by sight.
- A reminder that God knows and rules all of human history. The prophecies fulfilled throughout Daniel are staggering, as the same God who knows history also rules history and has it all under control, even when things seem to us to be out of control.
Like our hope, Daniel’s hope came from a relationship with Jesus Christ and faith in His First Coming. Our hope is in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of our bodies like Jesus Christ, and the fact that Jesus Christ rules and reigns over all of human history. The future is not open, uncertain, or chaotic; it is controlled by God.
Are you confident that the same God who got Daniel through his complicated life in Babylon will get you through your life in your Babylon?
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