Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:
19And he [the angel] 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.”
One more thing before I leave this verse: Notice the order of the angel’s admonitions to Daniel: “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed. Peace! Be strong now; be strong!” I believe it is quite deliberate. First he tells him, “Don’t be afraid.” If we are to be “strong in the Lord” we must vanquish our fears. In particular, I’m thinking of our inappropriate fears of God. The right fear of God arises from worship, but there is a slavish fear of God which believes He cannot be trusted, that He will only hurt us, that He is fed up with us. Paul says, “God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a well-ordered mind” (II Tim. 1:7). John tells us, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love casts out fear, because fear has to do with punishment” (I John 4:18).
Instead, we must believe we are, in fact, “O man, O woman greatly valued” – precious in the sight of God. In Ephesians we’re told to live our lives “as dearly loved children” (5:1). In Zeph. 3:17, we’re assured, “The Lord your God in the midst of you is mighty; He will save. He will take great delight in you. He will rest in His love. He will joy over you with singing.” These thoughts are exactly the “perfect love” which casts out fear. “If God be for us, who can be against us?” This is precisely why we must believe Romans chapter 8, that, being born again we are eternally secure in the arms of His love, that “nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
When we fill our minds with these thoughts and allow ourselves to be assured of His great love, then (and only then) can we know true peace. There can be no greater peace in this world than the confident assurance that I am loved by the infinitely wise, infinitely powerful, and infinitely loving God. That is what the psalmist means when he says, “The righteous man will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, confident in the Lord” (112:7). I am personally amazed at how much peace the Lord has injected into my life, not because I do such a great job trusting Him, but because He fills my heart with that very confidence. People ask me, “Aren’t you worried about this or that?” and my honest response is, “No, not really. The Lord has it covered.”
I am quite aware that He may allow hardship and pain, but He's been doing that my entire Christian life. At this end of life, I can look back and easily see in so many cases what He was doing, and the fact is I’m thankful He did. I don’t want to go through it again, and I am not asking for pain, but I’ve lived long enough to be convinced it really is true that “all things work together for good.” He is totally trustworthy to only allow what He knows is the absolute best for my life. So, because of who He is, I can be confident in Him. That is peace.
In a similar vein, read the words of the old Anglican minister, James Vaughn: “Notice the order of the words of the heavenly messenger when he spoke to Daniel. They are suggestive. He places ‘peace’ before ‘strength.’ ‘Peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.’ ‘Strength’ must have a foundation. And in proportion as you feel quite at peace with God, you have a foundation. In this, as in everything else, pardon, and the sense of pardon, come first. Then you are upon a rock…There must be quietness: and there is no real quietness till the soul sits pardoned at the feet of Christ.”
To have that kind of peace and to know I am precious to God transforms me! Instead of running from one fear to another, I can stand my ground and be strong – and it is “strong in the Lord,” not me. We can look up to Him and say with Daniel, “Speak, my Lord, for You have given me strength.” It is amazing, because that strength allows you to do what needs to be done, but, like Daniel, to do it in complete humility. It is a wonderful feeling to do what needs to be done, but know it is the Lord who is enabling me, so I have no reason to get proud, or, for that matter, even worry about who I am or whether I’ll personally gain or lose. As Jesus said, “The truth will set you free!”
I’m guessing every true believer could write the rest of this blog and we would all be encouraged to hear whatever they have to say. For myself, my mind goes particularly to work. Every day, the challenges seem overwhelming with ridiculously short deadlines, with difficult decisions which need to constantly be made. In addition, rubbing elbows with people for such a prolonged period of time, one can’t help but see their needs and sometimes to have to listen and respond to what are to them huge worries or fears. It is an unspeakable blessing to be praying even as we face those things and saying, “Lord, help me make the best decision here, or help me have the right words to encourage this person, to say anything at all that you can use to draw them to Your own heart” – and to have that wonderful peace of just knowing/trusting that He is using me, even if I can’t see it. It is wonderful to truly be able to say in our heart, “Who I am really isn’t important here. What matters is who God is.” As Daniel said, “Wisdom and power belong to Him.” If we “abide in the Vine,” we can “bear much fruit.”
We could multiply examples at home, in our marriages, with our children and grandchildren, with neighbors and fellow believers. However, whatever happens to be on our plate right now, this angel’s words are exactly what we each need to hear: “Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed. Peace! Be strong now; be strong!” Then, having ourselves drunk deeply from that well of grace, may we be angels in the lives of those we interact with, to help them not be afraid, to remember even as we speak, they are precious to God (and must be to us too!), to point them to God’s peace, and pray they’ll find God’s strength!
God wants us to be strong (in Him), angels want us to be strong – like our friend Daniel, may we receive their encouragement, then “be strong” for whatever it is the Lord would have us be and do in this world. There may be thousands and thousands and ten thousands times ten thousands of angels, but it is likely the only ones most people will ever see is you and me.
“For I can do all things through Christ,
who strengthens me” (Phil.4:13).
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