DANIEL 7
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within mewas anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’ 19 “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20 and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
– Daniel 7:15-22
DANIEL 7 WHEN IN DISTRESS
A poem by ILMA inspired by these verses
When distress visits our lives unexpectedly
Fear can creep in and debilitate us surprisingly
Anxiety can make us fearful and lose sight of truth
Let us remember to run to the Lord who knows all.
Human nature gets the better of each one of us when we are faced with unexplainable things. In this account, Daniel was distressed by the meaning of the dream of the four beasts. When we come across things that we don’t understand, our sinful nature’s desire is to uncover or decode the meaning of things that are hard to fathom. We can become consumed by such wishes for clarity that we lose peace and live in fear. At this point of Daniel’s life, he would have been in his eighties, so he must have had much discernment after serving many different kings in his life. He was very young when he was transported to Babylon to serve Nebuchadnezzar and has also witnessed how the king’s dream came to pass during his lifetime. It is understandable how these dreams distressed him.
REFLECTION
· What do you think God expects you to do when you are in distress?
