Daniel 10:2-3
“In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. I ate no pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.”
Daniel finds himself in a place where he desperately needs direction from the Lord. He has seen the spiritual condition of the nation and knows that the only hope for his people is a work of God. He determines to set himself to seeking the Lord. Along with daily prayer and digging into the Scriptures, Daniel chooses to set out upon a voluntary fast.
Fasting is a spiritual exercise that involves denying the body physical things in order to focus attention on spiritual things. Fasting is often associated with both prayer and personal repentance, and is designed to bring us into step with what God wants to do in and through our lives.
Technically, fasting is to restrict yourself from all food for a period of time, but actually, a person can fast from just about anything. Here Daniel has chosen to restrict himself from “pleasant food.” Because of his age, it is likely he ate something each day, but limited it to absolute necessity. We can follow his example by setting aside something that tends to occupy a lot of our time, and give that to the Lord. Today, one of the most valuable fasts may be to give up social media for a week and use the time to pray and read the Bible.
Whatever we choose to fast from, we should understand that much of the value of fasting is to train the flesh to say no. The same drives that compel me to eat, also tempt me to do what is forbidden, or to react in an ungodly manner. If I can resist the flesh’s desire for a cupcake, I can learn to resist its desire to complain, lash out in anger, or to be right all the time.
Why not choose to fast this week? Perhaps you will set aside food for a few days, or maybe there is something else that you can lay down for a while and give that time to seeking the Lord.
Pastor Jim
f you are anything like me, you have echoed the cry of John, from time to time in your walk with God. It seems whenever things become difficult, confusing or frightening, my heart cries out, “Come, Lord Jesus.” I realize, the only reason for His delay is His desire to see others come to faith in Christ. Peter wrote,
Daniel is one of the most interesting books in scripture, it is filled with both history and prophecy. It records the encounters of Daniel in the palace of the king, and gives a prophetic picture of things to come. Chapter 7 focuses on two kingdoms that will arise after the fall of Babylon. The first was Persia, which is illustrated by a ram that no one could stop. The second was Greece, portrayed by a male goat with a notable horn. This goat moved with uncanny speed across the surface of the earth, until its horn was broken and four horns grew in its place. Daniel then focuses his attention upon one of the four horns, and watches as it turns against the people of God and His sanctuary.
Revelation 21 begins the final section of the book. Pastor, preacher, theologian, and early radio pioneer Donald Barnhouse put it like this, “In this chapter we see that the history of time is finished; the history of eternity is about to begin.” Just as Jesus promised, the heavens and earth have passed away, and in its place a new heaven and earth have been created. The word ‘new’ carries the idea of what we might call “new and improved.” Just as our heavenly bodies will be superior to our earthly ones, so will the new heaven and earth be far beyond anything we ever experienced here. John goes on to describe just a little of what we have to look forward to.
Daniel is one of the greatest heroes in all of Scripture. His personal commitment and public ministry impacted the lives of his companions, co-workers, and even kings. We know he had opportunity to witness to the most powerful and influential men in the world, and it seems some of them were converted. One of the reasons for his success in ministry was his faithfulness. Daniel set himself apart to the Lord and sought to live a godly life. His commitment to the Lord affected every area of his life. Privately, we know he was a man of prayer and the Word. Publicly, we know he was a man of commitment, faithfulness and conviction. When his accusers sought to find some charge to bring against him, they realized that the only way they could find fault was if his religious convictions forbid him to obey an earthly law.
Have you ever wished God would write a message specifically for you? Perhaps hoping His finger would suddenly appear writing upon the clouds. Belshazzar had that experience. On the night before his death, the silence of heaven was broken when a warning was written on the walls of his palace. Sadly, Belshazzar ignored the warnings, did nothing in response to the message, and died that night not prepared to face eternity.
Have you ever heard someone say, “All roads lead to God”? While it is not true, according to Jesus Himself, that all roads lead to heaven, it is true, all roads lead to God. Whatever road you choose to travel in this life, it ultimately ends at the throne of God. John explains that he saw every person who had ever lived, the good, the bad, and the ugly, all standing before the throne of God and awaiting judgment for sin. There is no road you can travel that will not ultimately lead to the throne of God. Even those who stubbornly resist the Spirit of God and refuse to accept Him, will stand before this throne, along with those who refuse to believe He even exists. There is no way of escaping the throne, but there is a way of avoiding judgment.
This lesson is so important that it is set in an unforgettable backdrop. God allowed the most powerful ruler in the world to lose his mind, and behave like a wild beast, for a period of seven seasons, that he might learn that it is God who rules the affairs of men. While very few will go through Nebuchadnezzar’s experience, all of us need to come to the realization that the Most High rules the kingdom of men.
Every believer faces the temptation to conform to the ways of the world. Sometimes these temptations are a force so strong it seems impossible to resist. Often, these temptations are magnified by the sheer fact that so many are caught up in them, and the Christian feels isolated when he chooses to stand firm in the Lord and resist. Perhaps no other story in the Bible illustrates this point more clearly than the temptation faced by Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego.
Jim Gallagher 