Thou hast strengthened me

Daniel 10:19

And said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me.

Daniel was a man “greatly beloved.” That is an appellation that every one of God’s children would desire—to be not just beloved, but greatly beloved! One to whom God would see fit to reveal His hidden will and His holy way. One to whom would be vouchsafed truths that many others may not be privileged to know or understand. Daniel was a man who truly desired the Lord, and to understand the deep things of God. He is a man of higher caliber than most, and is in the company of Noah and Job, along with the great men of the faith. He was fasting three full weeks as he sought the Lord for an answer, and as he waited for the Lord to give him understanding.

And then, in this great account, a man appears to Daniel. Whether or not it was Christ in a pre-incarnate form that appeared to him here is somewhat tangential to the story, but is worth studying. It is, however, outside the scope of this study today. The man who appears to him has a similar appearance to the Son of man in the first chapter of Revelation. But we can only begin to fathom and understand what this must have been like. For you see! Daniel, having eaten little or nothing in three weeks, is praying when this figure appears to him. He is seeking God, and when He reveals Himself to Daniel, Daniel practically collapses. He loses all strength, as he said, “neither is there breath left in me.” He felt completely weak, utterly impotent, and depleted of all energy and vitality. And this is a marvelous place to which all of us would do well to find ourselves. Weak! Without any strength! Entirely dependent on the strength of the Lord! No natural force or energy of our own! Wasted, drained, and empty! This is a wonderful place! Because only when we are emptied of all natural, human, fleshly strength may we be filled with divine and spiritual vitality and strength.

See here! Daniel is strengthened by the Lord Himself! “Be strong, yea, be strong!” the Lord says. And when the Lord had spoken, he was strengthened. And he could listen to the Lord and speak to the Lord. Only when the Lord strengthens us will we have the might and power to do what He has given us to do. He whispers in our ear, “Be strong!” Otherwise, whether we are conscious of it or not, we will remain weak and anemic. Daniel said, “Let my Lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me!” This is the strength that we need. Not our own strength, but that which He provides. Do not despise weakness. Embrace it with open arms. Thank God for it! For it is only in weakness, as the apostle Paul tells us, that we are made strong. When I am weak, then am I strong! His strength is made perfect in weakness! Weakness is the greatest gift of all. It is the necessary prerequisite for strength! If you are strong in yourself, you will be very weak for God’s purposes. He uses the weak things of the world to confound the mighty. Hallelujah for this! Thank God for weakness. For in weakness, we may receive the strength that, as Christ received in the garden of Gethsemane, comes only from the Father above.

“Dear Lord, how we praise you this day for the strength that you provide. We see now how weak and pitifully unable we are in our own energy. We are weak. We need Thee, Lord, and Thy strength alone. We want no other. Help us never to live and work and breathe in our own strength, but in yours alone. And we know that this comes from your Spirit. Thank you that just the words that you speak to us when we most need them are sufficient to give us adequate strength. We trust you for strength this day to do the tasks before us, and to continually lean upon Thee. We rely and trust in Thee alone, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”