Daniel 10:12 (NASB20) Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.
Daniel 10:19 (NASB20) And he said, "You who are treasured, do not be afraid. Peace be to you; take courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I felt strengthened and said, "May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."
These verses are part of a story of how Daniel saw a vision from the Lord of what is to come in the future, and it terrified him to the point where it drained his strength and took his breath. The vision is described in Daniel 8, and Daniel’s prayer about it is recorded in Daniel 9.
The one who spoke to Daniel during this story is described the same way that John described Jesus in Revelation. “His body was like topaz, His face had the appearance of lightning, His eyes were like flaming torches…” (Dan 10:6)
And what did this “one who resembled a human” (Dan 10:16) say to Daniel? He said He heard Daniel’s prayer and came in response to it.
Jesus, physically showed up in answer to Daniel’s prayer. He physically touched him and shook him awake. He told Daniel not to fear, and then He told Daniel that He would explain the vision that Daniel had about the latter days. And He touched Daniel again and gave him strength.
Daniel was so devoted to the Lord, and so favored by the Lord, that the Lord actually came and appeared to him in his time of distress. And what caused his distress, a prophecy that he received from the Lord.
I think of how many times I cry out to God because of the trials I face in my daily life — going about my routines, minding my own business — and then I am both humbled and inspired by Daniel because his daily routines, and his business were completely centered on God. It wasn’t easy for him — it frightened him, drained him, and took his breath away at times — but he also received the greatest of rewards for it — Jesus physically came to him and encouraged him, taught him, and strengthened him.
When I say don’t fear, but trust in the Lord, what does that mean to you? Does it mean that you will trust God to give you something that you want, or fix some problem that you have? Those are good things to trust God for, and He is certainly able to do those things. But what it really means is not to be afraid of devoting yourself 100% to God — like Daniel did. The more you trust God, the more He will draw near to you. May that be an encouragement and inspiration to you.
Joel 2:21-22 (NASB20) Do not fear, land; shout for joy and rejoice, For the LORD has done great things. Do not fear, animals of the field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has produced its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.
These verses are part of a discourse where God is revealing a prophecy about the last days to Joel. He talks about the mighty armies that consume the earth, and devour all the good things that God created — taking the Garden of Eden and turning it into a desolate wilderness.
But God says that He will have compassion on His people. He will send us grain, new wine, and oil, and we will be satisfied in full with them. And He will remove our disgrace before all the nations.
But in these verses God is telling the land and the animals not to fear. In the last days people will have so thoroughly destroyed God’s creation that the animals will have nothing left to live on. I imagine a lush green paradise of gardens and fruit trees turned into the burned out remains of a forest after a forest fire.
All of God’s creation suffers because of the sin of mankind. At first it wasn’t as evident because of how great and vast God created the earth, but now mankind has covered the Earth, and our sin with us. But God is faithful, to us, and to all of His creation. He tells us not to fear, and He tells the animals, and even the land, not to fear.
God created us, and there is nothing we can do that is beyond His control. There is nothing we can do that He cannot fix or undo. Eventually He will create a new heaven and a new earth, and all the marks of our sin on this world will be erased and forgotten.
Our God is mighty to save! Trust in Him, and do not be afraid.