Rule for victorious living: when the stakes are high, bow down low.
Please read Daniel 2:19-30. When did the revelation come (v. 19)? “during the night” To whom did it come? “to Daniel”
If you can think of a time when you were in this position, share it.
“I can’t think of any times with decisions or message answers, but for my surgery last year, I went in reassured by all the prayers I knew would be going up for me that day.”
What kind of person would you need to be should God choose you to be the ‘me’ drawn from the ‘we’?
“I would need to be His humble mouthpiece, not in any way over-inflated in my ego about being chosen.”
Look up John 16:24 and fill in the blank according to the NIV: “‘Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, and “your joy will be complete.”’”
Dearest Rachel –
There’s not much to be gleaned from this particular day’s portion of the study from Daniel chapter two. You even left some line blank; not so much because you were in a hurry to finish it and skipped over those questions (although there may have been a little of that), but because you hadn’t been in the situations that those questions were having you address. And in fact, few of us find ourselves in a situation as urgent or dramatic as Daniel and his friends were in at the time, so we have trouble coming us with parallels.
You did what you could, of course, by comparing the peace you felt going into surgery, knowing that so many were praying for you and your situation at the time. I can’t recall my specific thoughts at the time – even going through the emails I sent out at the time to keep others updated on your situation don’t speak much toward my state of mind, save for a reference or two toward my job – but as things were out of my own hands, I’m fairly sure I concluded that there wasn’t any point in my worrying about it, even at the time. Leave it in the hands of God and the doctors; whatever came from either of them, I would then relay to those interested. Granted, I may have had more peace about it knowing that the situation wasn’t likely to be life-threatening, but still…
In any event, the comparison is that much more apt when you take in the fact that there really was nothing we personally could do about the situation. You mention not getting an over-inflated ego about being ‘chosen’ to deliver God’s message; well, when everything is out of your hands in the first place, what is there to get a big ego about? You’re not making anything happen; you’re simply the one to whom God lets it happen to. Redirecting it back to Him, while it may be difficult, is the only logical choice of action.
Granted, it may be hard to thank Him for it; the means He uses to get through to us (and by extension, those around us) often aren’t pleasant, especially in the moment. And sometimes, we don’t get a chance to see the big picture, and how the moment can or will be used to reach out to others. All we can do is hope and trust that it will; as with the doctors in your case, the matter is out of our hands, so we leave it to the ones – and in particular, the One – who knows better, who knows what He’s doing.
Wish me luck at that, honey; it’s not easy, even after all this time.
Letters to Rachel 