September 12th

“Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.” Daniel 10:19

We may feel that God is like a grumpy old grandfather holding on tightly to a fistful of blessings for our life. Quite the opposite is the case. Many places in Scripture, God speaks of His great love and esteem for us. God’s idea for us is to thrive and prosper in mind, body and spirit in His kingdom and His family. No human mind has conceived the great favor that God has for us when we reach His heavenly kingdom.

However, we are afraid because we do not understand God’s favor or His desire to give us peace because of His great love for us. Anxiety sabotages our strength and our peace because we are fearful of God’s correction and our own failures. When we can understand what God is saying to us and receive the love He wants to give to us, we are strengthened and find deep peace and great satisfaction.

We will then have little fear of God speaking to us because of the great love He has for us. This is much better than the words of a much-treasured friend, who we have not heard from in a long time. When we know who we are in Christ and how we are esteemed and greatly loved, we can walk in confidence as Daniel did during his trials.