Friday, March 9, 2018
Then I,
Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river. One of them asked the man dressed in linen,
who was now standing above the river, “How long will it be until these shocking
events are over?” The man dressed in
linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven
and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for
a time, times, and half a time. When the
shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will
have happened.” I heard what he said,
but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, “How will all this finally end, my
lord?” But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for
what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined
by these trials. But the wicked will
continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it
means.
Daniel 12:5-10(NLT)
God has now
revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own
good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything
together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with
Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in
advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. Ephesians 1:9-11(NLT)
Much of what Daniel
recorded is apocalyptic, casting a vision for (what was for him) the future
conclusion of God’s plan for all humankind.
It didn’t make much sense to him, but the LORD explained to Daniel it
was going to be like our government’s secrets – sealed and out of sight until a
later date.
This is the
somewhat veiled theme of the Lenten Season – that we have little to fear as we
walk, even through the valley of the shadow of death, for God has an immutable
plan that will result in endless fellowship between Himself and all who love
Him.
The fact is, you
need that on the Lenten pathway that leads through Golgotha a few weeks from
now. You need that when your job is at
risk, or the doctor uses the “C” word.
You need that when you get served divorce papers out of the blue. You need that when you get a call from the
hospital and the first words are: your
daughter. You need God’s
plan to which you can cling when life comes undone.
And life does
come undone! Have you notitced these
past 3 weeks the picture on this devotion?
It’s a path through the dense woods; woods that surround the path, and hang-over
the path, casting shadows over everything. At the end of the path, almost out of sight,
there is a man…walking. This is a
metaphor for walking through life in all of its’ uncertainty.
Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.
They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.
The man in black fled across the desert, and
the gunslinger followed.[2]
Life’s pathway can be bright at times…sometimes the dark, scary patches
seem to win!
For You Today
Lent is a time to
declare God’s light, no matter how many shadows try to say otherwise!
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day. 
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