Daniel 10: 7-11 “Personal”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

⁷And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, and the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell on them and they fled in hiding themselves. ⁸And I was left alone and I saw the vision the great the this and no strength remained in me and my glory was turned to corruption and I kept no strength. ⁹And I heard the sound of His words and as I [was] hearing the sound of His words, and I was one being dropped into deep sleep upon my face and my face earthward. ¹⁰And behold! A hand touched me and set me trembling on my knees and the palms of my hands, ¹¹and he said to me, “Daniel, man greatly valued, understand in the words which I [am] speaking to you and stand on your place, because now I am sent to you,” And in his speaking with me the word the this, I stood up trembling.

It’s interesting to note Daniel’s words, when he tells us, “And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision.” He then says, “The men with me did not see the vision, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.” Then he repeats, “So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision.”

Alone. That is an interesting word. Just to type it makes my heart cringe. I hate being alone. I can’t be “alone” for very long and I have to find some people to be with. Even if I don’t know them, it doesn’t matter – I just need to have people around me. Being “alone” just takes something out of me. I know other people are just the opposite, that being around people exhausts them and sooner or later, they just have to get alone, and that is what recharges them. Obviously both can be a strength and at the same time a weakness, so one isn’t necessarily better than the other, but it just is. I suppose everyone is one or the other – what are called extroverts and introverts.

Anyway – alone. What struck me as I’ve been thinking about these verses is noticing how God almost always speaks to people alone. There are just a few instances in the Bible where He actually spoke audibly to a group. He spoke to the Israelites from Mt. Sinai in Exodus 20 giving the Law, and He spoke to Peter, James, and John on the Mount of Transfiguration when He told them in Matthew 17, “This is My Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” There may be other instances I’m forgetting, but even so, I think anyone who knows their Bible would agree with me – He almost always speaks to people as individuals. There are a number of instances where He might send angels to speak to a group, such as the shepherds at Jesus’ birth, but even with angels, they most often speak to people alone.

What can we take from that? What strikes me is how our God is a personal God. We can all say, it is a wonderful thing to be part of a church, part of a worship service or Bible study with other people (which I love), seeking the Lord together. However, if I am to have a real relationship with God, even corporate worship must be simply an expression of my personal relationship with Him. When He saves us, He saves us alone. It’s just Him and me. I can’t accept Jesus for someone else. That is a transaction that must take place in each of our hearts individually. Even if the Spirit works mightily and brings a number of people to salvation at the same time (as the 3,000 in one day in Acts 3), in every single case, that moment of salvation is totally individual, totally personal between the Lord and each person.

Is that not true of everything about our relationship with the Lord? While it is true He is our God (in a collective sense), yet is it not also true, in order for it to be real, He must be my God – in a totally personal, individual, private way – just between Him and me? That needs to be something going on all day every day in our hearts, yet I wonder if that isn’t why there must be regular times in our life when we deliberately, intentionally spend time with Him alone?

Back to our passage, Daniel tells us twice the vision was for him alone: “And I, Daniel, saw the vision alone…I was left alone...and a hand touched me…and he said to me…”

As I said at the beginning, it has been true my whole life, I hate being alone. I am so thankful the Lord gave me my beautiful wife. When the Lord said of Adam, “It is not good for the man to be alone – I will make for him a fitting helper…,” I could shout, “Amen!” Just to be with her, to have her next to me, to spend my life with her is the very, very best cure for my aloneness. I treasure my relationships with anyone and everyone I know, yet she is the crowning joy to satisfy my need for togetherness.

However, even saying that, and I’ve never really thought about this until seeing it in Daniel, yet it is still true I need my alone time with God. I suppose it’s my farmer genes, but the Lord has blessed me my whole life with waking up early. It’s been years since I had to set an alarm clock, as I go to bed knowing I’ll wake up some time between 4:30 and 6:00-ish. It’s been a blessing, because that is particularly when I’ve been able to find my alone time with God. That is when I do most of my studying and when I can enjoy some serious prayer time – before the hustle and bustle and frantic madness of American culture sweeps me away.

God dealt with Daniel alone. In the desert, He called Moses alone. “In the year that king Uzziah died…,” He called Isaiah alone. When He met Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, it notes in Acts 9, the men who were with him “…heard the sound but did not see anyone.” Even in Jesus’ case, when a voice spoke to Him from heaven, it is recorded, “The crowd that was there and heard it said it thundered…”(John 12:29). John was alone on the Isle of Patmos when Jesus gave him the book of Revelation.

How amazing is it that our God is a personal God? He’s not just our God. He is my God. And if they were but willing, He would be “my God” to each and every one of the supposed eight billion people on earth. All at the same time! All day, every day, I have 100% of His attention, His care, His love, His presence! He gives me His. What He wants most of all is for each of us personally to give Him ours!