Daniel 10:19 “Angels”

Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹⁹And he said, “Do not fear, man greatly valued. Peace to you. Be strong and be strong.” And as he [was] speaking with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Speak, my lord, because you have made me strong.”

This world we live in can be a very discouraging place. As so many memes attest, everyone we see is dealing with struggles, frustrations, fears, regrets, and uncertainties. Everyone – which includes us. Life is hard. Probably one of the devil’s most effective devices is convincing people that God is unhappy with them, that He easily gives up on them and turns away. Those kinds of thoughts leave us in a very dark and lonely place!

Let us stop today and ponder Daniel 10:19. What I hope we learn from it is first of all, for our own encouragement, to have better thoughts of God, then secondly, to have drunk so deeply of His grace that we ourselves become better encouagers to those we cross paths with each day.

Here is our good friend Daniel, so terrified he stands literally shaking. He says himself, “I can barely breathe!” He says, “All my comeliness became corruption” – “I was suddenly overwhelmed by my failures!” Do you see how we find Daniel exactly where each one of us so often struggles?

Did the Lord give up on him? Did He send an angel with a horse whip to “beat him up”? Please stop and read again what the angel did say: “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed. Peace! Be strong now; be strong!”

What do we learn? First of all, who sent this angel? God did. Who is the angel speaking for? God, of course. What does it tell you and me about the Lord? Is He “unhappy” with Daniel? Is He “disappointed” and irritated by Daniel’s weakness? Is this message not exactly the words you would expect Jesus to speak to Daniel? And who is Jesus? God. My friends, just reading these words, you and I ought to cast away those unkind thoughts of God and instead look into His eyes of compassion and grace and love Him all the more! Do not fall for Satan’s lies and for even one second let your heart see your Father in heaven as anyone less than our wonderful Jesus Himself!

Look again at the angel’s words – coming straight from the heart of God – and really ponder what he’s telling Daniel. “Do not be afraid.” Those are not words of rebuke. They are the same words, spoken with the same tender love, as when you say to your little child in the thunderstorm, “It’s okay. You don’t need to be afraid. Daddy is right here. Mommy is right here.” All of us (hopefully) have known the gentle comfort of a loving parent, and (hopefully) we who are or have been parents have given that love. Notice here, it comes from God. “Don’t be afraid.”

Then the angel calls him, “O man highly esteemed.” We’ve parked on this one before. It could be translated “O precious man.” Notice there is not even a hint of rebuke in this. This angel, with the heart of God, very much wants Daniel to know he’s loved. Notice here, when someone is down, usually the last thing in the world they need is a rebuke. It is far more likely what they need is encouragement. As we’ve said before, life is hard. I think we’d all agree, I don’t need anyone beating me down when I’m struggling. This angel’s words are exactly what we usually need to hear – we need to be reminded we’re loved, even when we’re struggling.

Then he says, “Peace to you.” Peace. Is not peace one of God’s greatest gifts to us? In this insane, too often hateful world, what more can we sincerely wish for another person than peace? What the angel is saying to Daniel is that, in spite of his struggles, in spite of whatever have been his failures, this angel still wishes only the very best for Daniel!

Then he tells him “Be strong now; be strong!” Have you ever faced a tough struggle, only to have someone say just the right thing that instantly lifted your spirits and made you think, “I can do this!”? What a great feeling to truly be encouraged, to go from scared and confused to suddenly feeling confident and strong! Can we all see, that is exactly what this angel is doing for Daniel? What a wonderful gift! In this world, so often, it feels like too many people will “kick you when you’re down.” Even well-meaning people often say things that simply are not helpful -- then too often, hurtful. How much better to realize what someone else needs is encouragement, not abuse.

I must say, in all my Christian life, and all my studies of the Bible, I have never realized what incredibly gracious people angels are. They truly are “ministering” spirits! Their very existence is consumed with helping us, encouraging us, protecting us…and strengthening us!

That leads me to two immediate applications. First is to wonder at the grace of our God! How many angels did He create? “Thousands and thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand!” Here we are letting Satan whisper in our ears that God is far away, that He is unconcerned for our sorrows. Just to know there are angels (and SO many of them!) should instantly dispel those lies and make us, like John, lean into Jesus’ breast, to embrace His amazing, miraculous, and even undeserved love. Angles love us, but that love is only an expression of Jesus’ love. They are simply being like Him.

Then let us turn those thoughts on ourselves. Should not you and I be “angels” ourselves in this world? Should we not everyday say, “Lord, may my words all day be Your words. May I sincerely seek to be encouraging to the people around me. May my words actually strengthen them to face their struggles. I see Your angels. Thank you so much for their ministry to me – whether I even realize it or not – then help me to be just like them to others in this world.”

In Daniel chapter 10, we get to see a real angel dealing with a real man – a man just like you and me, and what a heart-warming lesson it is. It can encourage us in our struggles, then make us more like Jesus, like angels to sincerely try to be encouragers to others. May we learn to say to people, “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed. Peace! Be strong now; be strong!”

God does. Jesus does. Angels do. May you and I join them and be angels in our worlds!