God Cares For The Weak

“And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.” (Da 10:19 AV)

Daniel has just received a vision from the LORD and spent three weeks in fasting to get the interpretation.  The visions of his heart trouble him.  He saw nations and armies rise up against one another with the pleasant land as the theatre of war.  He saw his beloved Israel wrecked in repeated wars and the vision which he now had was a bit different than the ones he saw and interpreted for Nebuchadnezzar.  The future of his beloved land looked a bit glum.  That is until Messiah comes.  What we wish to see here is the compassion and understanding of the LORD towards the frailty of the prophet.  The LORD could have simply given the interpretation straight away.  He is God.  He could have sustained Daniel until after the interpretation was given.  Rather, the LORD answered Daniel’s immediate concern of weakness before He got on with the ministry of the word of God. 

I was thoroughly rebuked by my Mother-in-law.  Let me explain.  Several years ago, I needed surgery on my shoulder.  I had a bone spur that was three inches long by one inch high.  My shoulder bone needed to be ground down flat before my shoulder seized.  They call that frozen shoulder.  The surgeon who did the work was one of the best in the state.  He was able to perform this surgery laparoscopically.  That means, he was able to make three very small incisions and use cameras, lights, and the actual grinding tool to do the work without completely opening me up.  This reduces the recovery time significantly.  Recovery time is a bit misleading.  Because of the rather evasive nature of the surgery, recovery was a bit easier than it normally would have been.  My shoulder had to be in a sling and I had to avoid people for four weeks.  I couldn’t be around anyone who might inadvertently bump my arm.  The one activity that caused the most pain and which surprised me a bit was walking.  Lisa would take me to the mall just so that I could get out of the house and I would walk a little bit.  But something about the pounding of my foot on the hard surface sent pain through my shoulder.  Here is where my Mother-in-law comes in.  I was raised by a mother who had eight boys.  She didn’t have the time to baby us.  She didn’t dote on us when we were overwhelmed or injured.  So, when my wife wanted to dote on me, I bristled at it.  I wouldn’t let her do anything for me.  I found a way to do it myself, even if it meant going against doctor’s orders.  Kathy, as compassionately as she could, rebuked me and instructed me I was robbing Lisa of a blessing by not allowing her to fixate on my needs.  I was not allowing her to show compassion and care in strengthening me back to good health.

Some of us are lousy patients.  We want to be more than we are.  Above, we witness Daniel at the end of his human strength because he hadn’t eaten in three weeks.  There would be no ministry until he got his strength back.  Until he allowed the LORD to return his strength to him, all else could wait.  What touched my heart in this verse was the tenderness and compassion of an infinite God.  He didn’t belittle Daniel.  He didn’t remind him of the importance of the vision and the absolute necessity it was to write the interpretation.  The LORD did not rebuke Daniel for so little faith as to think the LORD could not sustain him until after the interpretation was given.  No.  The LORD heard Daniels’ request and took it as the most serious of requests He had ever heard.  He strengthened him!  This same strength is available to us.  All we have to admit is that we need it.  Not until we come to the end of ourselves and seek the LORD’s strength we will ever return to the strength needed so as to be of service to the LORD and others.  Just keep it in your heart.  God cares when we are at the end of our strength.  He has patience and concern.  He cares.