God’s Story... For My Life - Saturday, March 8, 2014
The Promise of Resurrection
Read Daniel 12:1-13
I heard what [the man dressed in linen] said, but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, “How will all this finally end, my lord?”
But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means.
“From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days. And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days!
“As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”
(Daniel 12:8-13)
Reflect
The promise of resurrection was reaffirmed to Daniel. He would one day see the fulfillment of his words, but he was not to spend the rest of his life wondering what his visions might mean. Instead, he was to rest in the comfort of God’s sovereignty and look forward to the time when he would rise to receive and share eternal life with God.
Daniel stands tall in the gallery of God’s remarkable servants. Born of royal heritage, yet taken into captivity when only a teenager, Daniel determined to remain faithful to God in the land of his captivity. Even at great personal cost, Daniel spent his entire lifetime advising his captors with unusual wisdom. God chose him as his servant to record some of the events of the captivity and some significant events concerning the future. As an old man, having been faithful to God throughout his years, Daniel was assured by God that he would rise from the dead and receive his portion in God’s eternal kingdom.
Respond
Faithfulness to God has a rich reward, not necessarily in this life, but most certainly in the life to come. God helps us to remain faithful until the end (see Galatians 6:9; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 12:1-3). But when the road to our heavenly reward seems long or discouragement beckons, we can pray for assurance and the strength to continue.