In the Silence

Cyrus, king of Persia, had already permitted the Jewish exiles to return to Jerusalem. Yet Daniel was still in Persia. He had lived nearly his whole adult life away from home.

Daniel had been mourning and seeking God for three weeks.
Twenty-one days of waiting. Twenty-one days without an answer, as far as he could see.
By the time a heavenly messenger came to him, Daniel was overwhelmed and physically spent.
But the first words he heard revealed something to Daniel.

As far as Daniel could tell, there had been only silence. But from the first day, God had heard him. There was no way Daniel could know what was happening.
The messenger told Daniel that he had been held back for twenty-one days. Daniel had no idea any of this was happening while he waited.
But God knew. And God had heard.
Later, when Daniel admits that he has no strength left, the messenger speaks again, saying, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.”
Peace was spoken over him. Strength was spoken over him. And as the messenger spoke,
Daniel was strengthened.

The difficult things ahead of Daniel had not been taken away. The message he would receive was still troubling. But God gave Daniel what he needed to face what came next: peace, strength, and courage.

Perhaps that is where you are today.
Waiting for something you cannot yet see. Wondering whether God has heard. Wondering what
He is doing in the silence.
Daniel reminds us that what we can see does not tell the whole story of what God is doing.
God is present in the waiting.

For generations, God’s people waited for what He had promised. Silence did not mean God had forgotten. When the perfect time finally arrived, the Savior was born.

God hears His people even when they cannot yet see what He is doing.

FEAR NOT when heaven seems silent.
BECAUSE GOD IS listening even in the silence.