“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.”
Daniel 7:9,10
A Time of Optimism
Daily Devotion – November 26, 2023
Devotion based on Daniel 7:9,10
See series: Devotions
Maybe it’s because the days are getting noticeably shorter at this time of year or because we tend to have more cloudy days, but this never seems like a very optimistic time of year. All that it takes is a little bad economic news, or you start to catch a cold, and you get down. You watch the news and see the way the world seems to be getting more and more evil, and don’t you begin to wonder? When will it end? What do you do to get out of that funk?
At first glance, Daniel knew just what that was like. He was standing before a holy and perfect God who would be his judge! How could he, an imperfect human, possibly stand before a perfect and righteous judge?
Daniel knew he could only do this by being perfect himself. But Daniel was far from perfect! God, the Ancient of Days, had promised him to send a solution to that problem. That solution would make it possible.
We have the same solution, but we have information Daniel never had. The solution to that problem is Jesus. His righteous life is given to us to make us righteous in God’s sight, so we can stand before a holy God without fear. Through faith, it doesn’t matter how bad the economic, political, or weather news is. We have the solution to the biggest problem we will ever have. His name is Jesus. What a time to be optimistic!
Prayer:
Lord, you created the seasons and the order of the earth. At this time of year as daylight hours grow shorter, keep us from letting gloom rule our lives. Help us to be optimistic, trusting all that is happening around us is in his perfect hands. Amen.
