Text: Daniel 7:15-28

Dear Young People,

ARE YOU SOMETIMES STUMPED WHEN YOU READ THE SCRIPTURES?
There are portions of God's Word that are simple enough to comprehend. Even young children can understand portions of God's Word.

However, there are some portions of Scripture that even the learned and wise Daniel had to struggle with. This must not surprise us.

Let us learn some important lessons from Daniel about how we can resolve the problem of a lack of comprehension of God's Word.

ALLOW THE DIFFICULT PORTIONS OF GOD'S WORD TO TROUBLE YOU!
What happens when you come across hard passages? Do you just skip those hard passages? Do you just run quickly to easier portions?

Daniel came across a difficult vision to understand. He did not dismiss the passage as impossible to understand. He did something quite different. He allowed the difficult portions of God's Word to actually trouble him.

We read the words of Daniel himself,

"I, Daniel was grieved in my spirit within my body,
and the visions of my head troubled me."
Daniel 7:15

This was Daniel's way of interacting with what God revealed to him. He must have tried very hard to comprehend the visions on his own. That is a natural response. That is not wrong in itself, though before too long, you will know that the natural mind is quite inadequate.

Daniel allowed the vision of God that he saw to percolate in his mind. He dwelt on the vision and its meaning deeply but could make no headway. By this time, he became grieved and the visions he saw troubled him. Not understanding God's Word troubled him! That is actually a very good sign!

THE SEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING
By now, we should be familiar with Daniel's characteristic response. This was not the first time he was troubled in heart and mind. He had sought God before on many occasions in the past, from the earliest years when he was but a student training to be a Babylonian official.

Once again, Daniel sought understanding. We read these telling words from Daniel's own pen.

"I came near to one of those who stood by,
and asked him the truth of all this."
Daniel 7:16

Daniel was driven to search for understanding and truth. It was this spirit that always resulted in God giving to him the spirit of wisdom and knowledge. Even as Daniel asked to know, so the Lord gave him understanding.

Be challenged, young people, to have a heart and mind that desire to learn deep truths from God's Word. There is so much to fathom. There is so much to discover. However, the onus is on us. It is our responsibility to search for understanding, wisdom and truth.

Prayerfully,                                                                             

Pastor Charlie

First released 9th December 2001, © Bethany Independent-Presbyterian Church, Singapore