Eight years ago, I was praying over a really hard situation a friend was walking through and was led to the tenth chapter of the book of Daniel. A couple of verses jumped off the page. There were no highlights or notes or underlined words to make these particular verses stand out, it was simply God pointing out words my heart needed. Following that uneasy feeling of “share this” … I sent the verses to my friend because I believe God had them for her that morning as she sat in a sterile hospital waiting room, anxiously awaiting word of the outcome of her husband’s surgery.
“…your request has been heard in Heaven.” (Daniel 10:12b)
Seven powerful words. So clear and so important. God hears our prayers. He hears our prayers just as He heard Daniels’. What a beautiful reminder this was as I pleaded for my friend that morning. God heard every word. And then I read this…
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are deeply loved by God. Be at peace: take heart and be strong!” (Daniel 10:19 NLT; emphasis mine)
Because I tend toward anxiousness and fear, I personally love that ‘Do not fear’ is the most frequent command issued in the Bible. I’m reassured because it is a command of God but also because I’m not the only one who has dealt with this – even the great heroes of our faith had hearts bent toward fear. At least I’m in good company.
And while all of the commands to not be afraid are powerful, this particular verse from Daniel struck me. He was told not to be afraid because he is deeply loved by God.
We can rest in the same promise. We can be at peace, we can take heart, and we can be strong because God deeply loves us.
He was right there in the waiting room with my friend, holding her and whispering peace over her because He deeply loves her. And, today, all these years later, He is surrounding my dear friend with a beautiful community of tangible support in the midst of her husband’s job loss because He deeply loves her. He is comforting my family as we grieve and miss so many loved ones during our first Christmas season without them earthside because He deeply loves us.
He doesn’t promise there won’t be pain or hard times, in fact, he clearly warns us of the trials and heartaches we will face in this life. Yet, in the hard, in the dark, in the pain, He is right there as a bright, trustworthy light. Because of love. Because of a deep, unmeasurable, unending love. We can rest in that love. We can face hard things because of that love. We can resist fear because of that love. We can go wherever He calls because of that love.
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A few days after reading those verses in Daniel, my Christmas plans were disrupted by an unexpected and terrifying hospital stay with then seven-year-old Ben. In the midst of the frightening experience, God was so very near. He led us to the doctor’s office at the exact moment we needed to be there and protected my sweet boy with such tender care.
If ever there were a lesson in putting first things first and the unimportance of wrapped presents or just-one-more stocking stuffer, or the perfectly curated holiday meal, it is the helplessness of having a sick child. Advent that year had been transformed from anticipation of our coming Savior with earthly eyes also focused on a long-list of to-dos, to praising Emmanuel- God with us.
The verses from Daniel that had been laid on my heart just days before, carried me through that afternoon’s ambulance ride and hospital stay with my boy.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are deeply loved by God. Be at peace: take heart and be strong!” (Daniel 10:19 NLT; emphasis mine)
I prayed the words over and over. Ben is deeply, deeply loved by God. Truth soaking my heart with peace.
He never left us, He went before us – preparing the way for the incident we had no way of anticipating, and He stayed so very near.
Emmanuel. God with us.
Because of His great love, He sent us His son in the most non-threatening, gentle, humble form: a baby. We celebrate the birth of God in flesh, in a humble stable, in the quiet of the night, He came for love and because of love. To be with us. To fulfill promises and prove His trustworthiness.
Merry Christmas, my friends. May God bless each of you reading these words with His love and grace and comfort as we head into these last few days leading to the joy of Christmas morning.