Taking Comfort from a Caring God

In this turbulent times, we need the comfort of a loving God. We live in an uncertain world - hurricanes, earthquakes and tsunamis - happening around the world in recent times, including earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, and before this, in Queensland, Australia. Then also, there was the hurricane in Haiti. And few more recent natural calamities.

Nowadays, we are no longer safe in our own homes. Gone were the years when we could leave our windows freely open and enjoy a night's sleep without having to worry about unwelcome burglars and thieves in the night.

I'm not even talking about our sad medical health news from our doctors or general practitioners (GPs), ... about cancer and other terminal illness some of us may have gone through as a patient or as a carer of a loved one.


Whilst reading one of my devotionals, I dawned upon an insight about the prophet Daniel in the Bible's Old Testament. There is something to be learnt in Book of Daniel. When Daniel was a young man, he was taken into Babylonian captivity where he was educated in Chaldean thought. He never fully converted to Neo-Babylonian ways. But by divine wisdom from his God, he interpreted dreams and visions of kings, therefore becoming a prominent figure in the court of Babylon. Daniel had apocalyptic visions of his own that have been greatly interpreted. One of the most famous tales of Daniel are: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, The writing on the wall and Daniel in the lions' den.

Although much different from our circumstances, Daniel, for almost all of his life, lived through uncertainties. He was snatched from the comforts of his family as a youth. While serving in the Babylonian court, he encountered backstabbing colleagues and temperamental kings.

We can also take courage and comfort in the dream that God gave to Daniel. Here are some lessons we can learn:

• That earthly kings and their kingdoms come and go, but God's kingdom is everlasting.  (Daniel 7: 13-15)

• That we live in an uncertain world, but we have God's certainty of victory (Daniel 7: 18).

It's comforting to know God's gift of care, of love and peace.