Daniel 10 v 1 -11 v 1

Well what do you know, another vision involving Daniel!

In the passage before us we see that although some exiles have returned to Jerusalem, Daniel is still in exile and we find him standing by the banks of the River Tigris. He is not “in a good place” as we might say today. He is deeply mourning and on a restricted diet (v3) and is weak and helpless (v8). And in the middle of all of this he has this vision. I wonder if Daniel felt that he didn’t have the energy to face whatever this all meant. If he was faithful to God then why was his life proving to be so difficult?

However the man who has appeared to him in his vision encourages him by telling him that he is highly esteemed and that he has not been forgotten. God is still in control but Daniel has to learn that God will fulfil His purposes in His time.

We often face times of difficulty in our lives and I wonder if our response can sometimes be “God, just go away and leave me in peace!” And yet our only strength in spiritually testing times comes from God. We have no strength in our spiritual battles except the strength that comes from God, so let’s never try to fight our own battles on our own terms and instead rely in His strength at all times.

Revd Robert Legge