(Based on Daniel Zine Chapter 11: Time)
Juliette Alvey
Dear Grown-ups,
We are now at the eleventh chapter of this Daniel Zine blog series and at the eleventh hour of Daniel’s life and prophecies. God has one more vision for Daniel—but why God burdens Daniel in his old age with an overwhelming vision of kingdoms fighting for power and bringing destruction is impossible to understand. It seems the terrible news will never end, and Daniel doesn’t even have the power to change or help the situation. He is left wondering how long this will go on.
Have you ever asked God the question, “How long, Lord?” At times, life can be too much to take, and peace is hard to grasp. These times feel like they will never end, even when we know the eternal hope that is in Christ Jesus.
My neighbor lost her son recently. She keeps saying, “Why can’t God just give me one more day with him?” The time she had with him in this life felt way too short now that he’s gone. She knows that she will see him again in the resurrection, but right now that is not soon enough. This month we remember all of the saints that have gone before us. Many of us have loved ones we hope to see again one day, but if we’re honest, that feels very far off and maybe even far from reality.
Things are heavy… much too heavy for us to bear.
But here is some good news: Did you know that nowhere in the Bible does it say that God will not give you more than you can handle? That is a common misunderstanding of the verse that says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (1 Cor 10:13). Notice that Paul is talking about temptation here, not suffering.
You may be thinking, “How is that good news? So God will give me more than I can handle?” It may be counterintuitive, but you will realize this is good news when you are in one of those moments when you cannot handle what is being given to you. Remember that you are not expected to handle it. Rather than focusing on how you should be able to, you are free to hand it over to the one who can handle it. God does not promise that we will not suffer in this life, but he does promise to carry the weight and to bring it to an end one day.
That day feels too far off, but take heart, it will come like a thief in the night. At that time “our present sufferings [will not be] worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Rom 8:18).
At the end of chapter eleven in the Daniel Zine, there is an inkblot activity. The zine instructs StoryMakers to choose colors that make them think of peace. Just like the world around us, inkblot art looks abstract and confusing, but in the mess of this life, God’s colors of peace surround us and promise to bring beauty out of the things we cannot handle or understand.
