“I'm afraid you have failed to comprehend the magnitude of the situation.” This was a phrase we taught my little brother when he was about three years old. He used it when confronted by adults with several situations and the results were comical. What three year old can comprehend the magnitude of any situation?
I thought about this phrase recently when the circumstances of life felt totally overwhelming. I questioned myself, “If in the midst of the chaos I am experiencing peace, is it because I am failing to comprehend the magnitude of the situation?” As I considered this possibility I thought about the prophet Daniel. When I read the account of him being put into the lion's den he seems to be experiencing peace while King Darius is in turmoil. So which one of these men has a true comprehension of the magnitude of the situation?
King Darius had a factual understanding of what it meant to be thrown into the lion's den. First, Daniel was an old man. Second, the purpose of throwing a man into the lion's den was for the man to be overpowered by the lions and killed. The King had been tricked into doing this to Daniel by those who were jealous of Daniel. Darius knew Daniel was a righteous man but he also knew that no injunction or ordinance established by the Medes and Persians could be changed. All of this weighed heavily upon King Darius and he was filled with anxiety.
There is a quietness of peace that surrounds Daniel in this story. Daniel knew the doctrine had been signed with the injunction that anyone who petitioned a god or man other than King Darius for the next thirty days was to be cast into the lion's den. He understood the law of the Medes and the Persians but he continued to pray and give thanks as he had done previously. Did Daniel experience this peace because he failed to comprehend the magnitude of the situation, or was it because he did comprehend the magnitude of the situation?
Lord Jesus, You gave Daniel a vision of the Ancient of Days as He took His seat on His throne of fiery flames. You showed him the one whom a thousand thousands served and the one before whom ten thousand times ten thousand stood. Daniel was given Your peace when he saw You in the night visions. He saw that You were given dominion and glory and a kingdom. Please help me when I am faced with situations I cannot comprehend to not let my heart be troubled or afraid because You have given me Your peace.
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