ODJ: when the world falls apart
September 11, 2010
But [the king of the north] will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant (v.30).
READ: Daniel 11:29-32
We are obsessed with success. An entire industry revolves around Guinness World Records, cataloging stuff like the longest beard, the fastest 40-meter wheelbarrow race, and the most T-shirts worn at once. We have meticulous lists of all the record holders, but nobody remembers the losers.
Unfortunately, this fascination with all things triumphant has corroded our spiritual pursuits. We can begin to believe that God’s job is to make us succeed, to clear our path of obstacles, to (always) remove impediments and suffering.
In contrast, the prophet Daniel went to great lengths in warning Israel of a future time of severe troubles. Pushing against any misplaced feelings of entitlement to comfort, Daniel warned that an evil king from the north would descend with his crushing army to “take over the temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary,” and unleash his rage on God’s people (11:31). Later, Jesus echoed a similarly dreadful prediction to His disciples, essentially warning them that their world would fall apart (Mark 13:14).
Why would God warn His people of coming hardship rather than simply stopping it? And what does this say about us in our places of distress? Is God cavalier about our suffering?
The witness of Jesus teaches us that, amid this world drowning in sin, not all suffering can be avoided. To redeem the world, Jesus had to immerse Himself in it, even at the cost of His own life. Daniel’s prophecy pointed toward this long vision of God’s activity to rescue the world. And God invites His people to the same perspective, engaging our world in its brokenness. This means that while God will not always remove our suffering, He will always enter our suffering with us. —Winn Collier
Where have you encountered suffering? How have you experienced God’s presence in that place?
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