When We Have Nothing More to Give

Dear Grown-ups,

Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by life that you felt like you couldn’t speak? Or so beaten down and exhausted that all you could do was sleep (not a stretch for those of us with kids)? Have you ever felt like you simply had nothing more to give? Take heart, you are in good company…

In the tenth chapter of Daniel, he is emptied of all capacity to function. God gives him another vision of battles, seen and unseen, and the weight of it causes Daniel to suffer physically.

First he is unable to eat. Then he falls into a deep sleep. Then he is speechless. He is completely helpless and has absolutely nothing to give, and even his ability to receive information is gone. His body is shutting out what his emotions and mind just cannot handle.

Let’s take a closer look at what causes these physical reactions in Daniel:

First Daniel is overcome by the vision God gives of earthly battles to come, and he can’t eat. Then he sees the vision of the “son of man” by the Tigris River, which makes him fall asleep. His description of the man is similar to the apostle John’s description in the first chapter of Revelation: a man dressed in a linen robe and a belt of gold, with a bright face and hair, and eyes like flaming fire. Both Daniel and John were seeing a vision of Christ (albeit preincarnate in Daniel’s case) and both cannot stand before him. I feel pretty confident I would fall on my face too if I saw someone with fire eyes.

Daniel tells us what happened next: “Then one who looked like a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, ‘I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.’ Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ‘Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,’ he said. ‘Peace! Be strong now; be strong.’ When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, ‘Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength’” (Dan 10:16-19).

The amazing thing about the glorified Christ is that he does not stay terrifying and distant. He comes to Daniel and touches him. He speaks words of comfort so that Daniel can speak again. When he came to earth as a human, he touched the sick and needy and healed them. He spoke words of hope to give strength to the helpless. The one who has power over heaven and hell humbles himself to walk with us and save us.

This month we remember the Reformation, which reminds us that though we are weak and have absolutely nothing to give, we are justified before God through Christ. This is the hope that Martin Luther found in the scriptures—it is in Christ alone that we are saved, not by our own strength or works. Luther knew he was too weak and sinful to stand before God, and so he relied on God’s word which told him, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast” (Eph 2:8-9). After receiving the free gospel of Christ that covered him and made him worthy to be in the presence of God, he boldly passed this message along to others.

As parents and leaders, we can become overwhelmed by the weight of the world and by our own weaknesses. However, as God tells the apostle Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). In our weakness we rely wholly on the power of Christ. He gives us words when we cannot speak, strength when we cannot stand, and sustains us through his body and blood. When we have nothing to give, Christ gives us all we need.