Do Not Be Afraid

Monday, May 24, 2004

When I was a child, my brothers and I loved to act out the Bible stories that we had learned in Sunday School. First, we would go up to Mom's blue trunk, and pull out the spare blanket, which we then hung in the kitchen between two chairs. Our imaginations were extensive enough to pretend that the blanket was a curtain for our stage. Early on, we learned that the kitchen was the perfect place for these mini-plays. While Mom was waiting for supper to cook, she was our captive audience.

One of the stories we loved to re-enact was the life of Daniel, perhaps because of the high drama, and perhaps because it was a long enough play that we could put on different segments every night for a week.

Daniel had everything going for him. He was qualified to serve a king, was born into a noble family, was handsome with no physical defects, had an aptitude for learning, was well informed, and was quick to understand. Yet, just when everything was going his way, he was kidnapped, snatched out of his home, and taken into captivity where his captors tried to brainwash him and get him to forget his parents, his religion, and his former way of life. Daniel's problems didn't stop here; he was challenged and threatened because he wouldn't eat food offered to idols. When the King of Babylon had a bad dream, he told Daniel that he would have him cut into tiny pieces if he wasn't able to tell him the meaning of the dream.

Perhaps with all of these problems, Daniel was tempted to ask, "Where are You, God?" Although there is no record of this question in Scripture, God knew Daniel's heart and He said:

Daniel 10:12 – Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. (NIV)

When we are finding it difficult to feel God's presence because of the trials we are facing, we could insert our own name where Daniel's is, and read this verse with our name in the blank: "Do not be afraid, ______. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them."

Prayer: Dear God, remind us that You never change. You hear the prayers of Your children, and You will respond to us when we turn to You in prayer. Amen.

Forward this devotional     Share this devotional on Facebook     Like PresbyCan on Facebook

About the author:

Elaine Ingalls Hogg <authorhogg@yahoo.ca>
Smiths Creek, New Brunswick, Canada

Send your feedback to the author

Comments are closed.

Previous Post
«
Next Post
»
 



PresbyCan is a community of faithful, Holy Spirit-filled, Christ-centred, God-honouring Christians.