I know who holds the future

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom— in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.  Daniel 9:1-3

Daniel spends the whole of his adult life in exile in Babylon. And throughout all of this time, Daniel stays faithful to the God of his ancestors. He doesn’t just turn to God in times of crisis, but he is ready to face times of crisis because he has walked with his God throughout the whole of his life’s journey. He reads the Scriptures. He takes time to understand what they mean. He prays. He pleads with God for his people. Seventy years is a very long time to stay faithful in a foreign land and culture without conforming to the thinking and practices of that culture.

Romans 12:1-2 could have been written about Daniel –

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.  Romans 12:1-2

In his prayer recorded in Daniel 9, Daniel does not seek to blame God for what is happening to him and his people and his beloved city Jerusalem.

Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong.  Daniel 9:4-5

He does not question God’s love and faithfulness. He recognises the disobedience and rebellion of his people. He knows they didn’t listen to God’s messengers. And throughout it all, there is no question: God is righteous, God is merciful, God is forgiving.

And even in this punishment, God has kept His word –

You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster…The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him. Daniel 9:12,14

And so Daniel does not plead for himself or his people. They have got what they deserve. He pleads for God’s own sake, for the honour of His name. He’s lamenting because of how God is viewed in the world – powerless, irrelevant, unfaithful. He yearns for God’s name to be restored.

Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name. Daniel 9:18-19

Because Daniel is highly esteemed (it’s talking about in the heavenly realms here, not on earth, although he is highly esteemed on earth too, God sends his angel Gabriel to bring insight and understanding to Daniel. Although all this talk of seventy ‘sevens’ etc is pretty hard to understand and has people decoding it in totally different ways over the centuries!

I guess all that Daniel needs to know is that God knows what He is doing. He has it all planned out. He knows exactly what is happening and when. And that in the end, all will end well. The angel talks of Jerusalem being rebuilt, of the coming of an Anointed One – but then of the destruction of the city again and the putting to death of the Anointed One. And then wars and desolation and abomination.

Some things are better not to know. It’s hard to see how this insight can bring any comfort to Daniel at all. We have to trust the future and all that it holds to the God who knows everything and holds the future in His hands.

Anyone remember this golden oldie?

I know who holds the future
And He’ll guide me with his hand
With God things don’t just happen,
Everything by him is planned.
So as I face tomorrow,
With its problems large and small,
I’ll trust the God of miracles,
Give to Him my all.

It just about sums up what’s going on in Daniel’s world and what I’m aiming at in my world. With the recent diagnoses we’ve had for our three adopted kids of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, it’s hard not to worry for the future. I worry about what will happen when they leave school. I worry about getting that phone call that something terrible has happened to one of them. I worry what will happen when they struggle to find their place in the world. I worry what will happen to them when my husband and I are not here to look out for them any more. I worry I won’t be healthy and fit enough as I get older to care for them. Sometimes fear about all this grips me and I can barely breathe.

And in all of this, I am having to learn to trust God. I don’t want to know what the future holds. Today has enough concerns of its own. Of course that doesn’t mean that we’re not preparing for the future the best we can – we’re giving all of that a lot of thought at the moment, about how our kids will get the support they need. But we can learn to ditch the anxiety that accompanies that.

All I need to know is that God has us in His hands. I can trust the God of miracles – not just for the future, but for today too.

I will faithfully serve Him in the present and let Him take care of the future