Preparing for a Different Future

One of the great prayers recorded in Scripture is Daniel’s prayer in Daniel 9. It is a prayer of confession, in which he confesses both the greatness of God, and also the greatness of the people’s sin. He is very clear that the basis for his appeal to God for forgiveness is not “because of our righteousness but because of your great mercy” (v.19). 

Let’s think about this verse:

“As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.” (Daniel 9:13 NAS95)

There are differences, of course, between our current “calamity” and that of the Israelites under the Babylonians. And yet we still understand that the hand of God is involved in our current situation, and while we cannot say that it is due to this and this, and that God wants to accomplish this and this - we still must ask, what should we be learning? What should be forsaking? What should we be embracing? How should life and church be re-shaped in light of what we are learning?

We are to seek the favor of the the Lord our God. We know that His favor follows walking in His ways. No, there is not one-to-one correspondence. Many who walk in God’s ways may suffer unusually, though we can also say that they are also blessed unusually, often right in the midst of their sufferings. As we seek the favor of the Lord, we do not merely ask for the virus to be abated or eradicated, but we ask how it is that we might more consistently walk in His ways. Last week’s Easter message mentioned three areas that are clearly addressed in Scripture, but are often not-so-clearly addressed by our own selves: 1) “no longer living for themselves” (2 Cor 5:15); 2) “see to it that no one takes you captive … according to the elementary principles of the world” - here, seemingly, a kind of legalism that produces self-righteousness (Co. 2:8); and 3) “born again to a living hope” (1 Pet 1:3), thus not living on the strength of dying hopes. 

How is it that I am living selfishly, or self-righteously, or placing my hope in dying things? These things will run directly counter to “the favor of the Lord our God.” And so here, then, we come to the remainder of that line that begins with seeking the favor of the Lord our God: “by turning from our iniquity, and giving attention to Your truth.” By examining ourselves, individually and collectively, and making required changes.