17 Jun LOVE = REACH Day 6
“Maybe there are times when we think a door has been closed and, instead of misinterpreting the circumstances, God wants us to kick it down. Or perhaps just sit outside of it long enough until somebody tells us we can come in”
(Bob Goff – Love Does).
READ (Daniel 10)
“He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12 Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. 14 Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
We see in Chapter 10 that Daniel is fasting and praying. He needed a breakthrough. Daniel is facing multiple assassination attempts. He has been thrown in a lion’s den, his friends were thrown in a fiery furnace. It was a bad time in his life to say the least.”
In verse 14, the angel says, “I need to let you know what’s going to happen to your people, and I need to give you a vision for the future, as well” – paraphrasing here of course.
You get the sense that they are living in a very hostile world. They are surrounded by enemies. They are surrounded in Babylon, which was a very secular, sensual culture. No matter what they do to succeed, they never seem to really advance, because there’s always some kind of hidden agenda.
When the angel finally gets a message to Daniel it is not what you thought you would hear. He says, “Hey, Daniel, not much is going to change here. It’s not going to get any better, Daniel. God’s not taking you out of Babylon. You might have some more attacks in your life.” And so, before the angel lets Daniel know that it’s probably not going to change very much, he says, “Hey, Daniel, I just thought you should know: God loves you.”
Now, if I’m Daniel, me and Gabriel have a problem. Because I’m not fasting, I’m not praying, for God to tell me that it’s just going to get worse. If I’m fasting, and I’m praying, and even – at that point, if you want to tell me, Gabriel, that God loves me, I’m kind of questioning God’s love. Because if God loves me, why is He going to let all this stuff happen to me? If God loves me, why has He got me here? If God loves me, why are all these things coming at me? If God loves me, why is this the way that it is? But the angel continually reassures Daniel, “Hey, listen, I want you to know that God loves you. He loves you. He’s not going to take you out of where you are. Be reminded: He’s placed you there ”
And isn’t that how we are? Many times, we do the same thing. We’re like, you know, “God, if You love me, rescue me.” “If You love me, deliver me.” “If You love me, take this away from me.” “If You love me, don’t let me have this pain.” “If You love me, then You can do –” Or we say, “God, You’ve got to love me . . . but by the way, I’m going to quit and give up, and run from my problems, and hopefully, we’ll meet over here somewhere.”
But normally, the option, with God, is this: “I choose for you stay in the midst of the struggle,” and He announces to us, “Even though you’re in the struggle, I love you. I care for you. I’m for you. Nothing’s wrong with My love just because, externally, some things are going on, and you’re struggling in life.”
When Daniel begins to fast and pray, and God sends him an answer for his future, gives him a vision for tomorrow. Gabriel begins to reveal a message. He tells Daniel, “I tried to come several weeks ago. I was on my way. I faced this Prince of Persia. He fought me. I couldn’t get past him. So, then, God sent Michael, another archangel, another warring angel, to come and help me. We were able to overcome that high-ranking demon spirit. Now we’re here. I’m telling you, I’m giving you this message; I’m talking to you about it.”
Point being that there is, many times, a greater battle over your prayers than you think. Many times, there is a greater battle over the things you’re believing God for than you think. And our problem is, we forget that there is a fierce battle going on, and we forget that God releases the warring angels, He releases whatever resources necessary, to get our prayer answered. Our problem is, we lose hope in the gap, we lose hope in the delay, and we start saying that, “Nothing’s ever going to change; it’s always going to be this way. It’s never going to get any better.”
LOVE = Persistence. We must know the character of God. There may be prayers you are tired of praying, but don’t stop pressing in to Him and asking Him for a change in the situation. Fasting and prayer are a great way to set the stage for divine direction to come to your life. Perhaps you have a family member or loved one that you have given up on because you haven’t seen a change in their life, but I encourage you to persist. Kick the door down. Press in! Growing up in a small mountain church in Kentucky they would often say…you just need to Tarry! Tarry until God moves!
ACT:
Continue reading the Book “Love Does,” by Bob Goff.
REACH:
Are there prayers you quit praying because you simply got tired of praying them? Choose to start praying for those situations again. Allow God to give you a vision for the future. The situation may not change immediately, but He can give you sight to see how He is working all things together for their good.