Daniel Week Five, Day Three Read Daniel 10:10-14 A few years ago, a stray puppy showed up on my sister’s porch. The little guy was about 8 months old, and he had been dropped off and left by someone near my sister’s house. Before my sister fed him and officially made him part of the family, I had tried to pet him. The dog was skittish and would run away from me when I would try to pet him. He was scared of me because he didn’t know if my hands were getting close to him to pet him or to harm him. Eventually, the pup decided to give me a chance and realize that I had no intentions of harming him. Daniel was afraid of the man he saw in the vision. After Daniel collapsed to the ground, the man, probably Jesus, reaches His hand down to touch Daniel. Instead of reaching down to hurt Daniel, God was reaching down to help Daniel. When He spoke, He didn’t speak discouraging words to Daniel, but He spoke honest and encouraging words. To Daniel, God was someone to be trusted and to love, but Daniel also knew that God was to be feared because of His incredible glory and power. Even though God had seemed absent, God told Daniel that He had heard His prayers all along. Just like a skittish dog, we can sometimes be fearful that God is just out to get us or punish us. But, the hand of God never extends to condemn you, He extends His hand to lift you up. Even if it feels like you’re being punished, God will often allow us to go through things that will cause us to turn toward Him and change the direction of our life. In so many moments, God can seem distant and uninterested in what we are going through. God cares about you more than you even care about yourself, and God is doing more than you can even understand behind the scenes in your life. Even though Daniel hadn’t seen results the entire time He was praying, things were set in motion the very first day he turned to God. Don’t discouraged when it seems like your prayers aren’t being answered. Rest assured that God is right there with you and is working behind the scenes. REFLECT: Do you ever question where God is at times in your life? Do you ever feel like He is out to get you? Why do you think God sometimes delays answering our prayers and even answers them in different ways than we would want? PRAY: Talk to God about the areas of your life you having questioned God’s presence in. Affirm to Him that you know He’s there for you, and He is working behind the scenes. Ask God to help you have the faith to trust Him even when He seems distant. // TWO-A-DAYS // GO A LITTLE FARTHER WITH YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONS // Go through these questions with your spouse, kids, or friend, or you can even journal about the answers to these questions:
- What was the best part of your day?
- What was the toughest part of your day?
- Where did you mess up today?
- Where did you see God today?
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