“This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”
As parents, we hope our children will come to us if and when anything goes wrong. In part, this is a noble thought that requires a kind of bravado, the bravado that says, “I may not like what I am about to hear.” But we hope they confide in us so much that they inform us when things go sideways. We should be overjoyed when they come to us, but what we hear we may not like, and it ends up troubling us.
Daniel was in this spot. He had a dream, and the Lord chose to give him the interpretation of the dream as well. Verse 28 says that after he received this heavenly vision, he was “troubled.” That is kind of awkward to hear because God Himself just spoke to him and gave him a vision and interpreted it. On the surface, that is like, “How cool is that?” But the reality is that he was deeply negatively affected by the dream and its interpretation so much that he kept the matter to himself.
Wait, you mean to say that even Daniel was upset after the Lord gave him a dream and told him what the dream was meant to be? Bingo! You are right. The truth is that hearing from the Lord is not always pleasant. Gideon was afraid when the angel told him he was going to fight the enemy. Joshua felt inadequate for the job after Moses died. Joseph spent 13 years as a slave and in jail, and it was all under the hand of the Lord.
God may have you right where He wants you, even in the middle of all the crap that is going on. That is right, stuck in the middle and troubled. When I find myself in places like this, I love hearing Joel Osteen. He always says, “This is not the final chapter of your life. God is not done with you.” He did not throw up His hands and abandon you because you are too much, no, His arms are wide open, waiting for you to run to Him for comfort.
Psalm 23 says that even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego told the king, “Even if our God does not save us, we will not bow.” Joshua states, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
You have to choose what you are holding on to. Your flesh will fail you. You cannot conquer this under your own power, you need Jesus. Even though Daniel was troubled, he did not turn his back on God. Today, wake up and ask yourself, “Have I truly died to all those things that set me back?” “Have I put my faith in my own power?” “When I am troubled, do I trust in the Lord or muscle it forward?”
Being troubled is common in life, it is how you handle it that makes the difference. Daniel could have spouted off to all his friends about how troubled he was, but he kept it to himself and trusted that God would see him through whatever was coming. Jesus is enough, period! Just like the negative news from your children troubles you, they came to you because you can help them, even in the middle of trouble. It is the perfect example of how we should trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). You may have some plans on how to fix things, but if you submit to the Lord, He will guide you and show you which path to take.
Prayer: Father, help us to store your commands in our hearts and never let the world or its way of doing things cloud us from following you. I pray that we never let the world influence us. I pray that we trust in the Lord no matter what circumstance we are in and keep our eyes on Jesus because You are the author and perfector of our faith. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Let It Go 
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