We continue with our meditations in The Book of Daniel, as we continue to dig deeper into verse 13 of Chapter 10. It reads,
"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia."
We continue digging into the phrase "withstood me." The other example that comes to mind in this direction of thought is Jacob. He lived a life of struggles from conception. He was competitive. Been there. Done that. And, have my last daughter presently there.
Genesis 25:21-22 reads,
"Now Isaac pleaded with the Lord for his wife, because she was barren; and the Lord granted his plea, and Rebekah his wife conceived. But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If all is well, why am I like this?” So she went to inquire of the Lord."
The struggle is real. I love Rebekah's question. “If all is well, why am I like this?” If all is well, why the trouble (struggle, tension, confusion, shaking, doubt, tension, contention, disappointments, delays, etc.) in my life?" Why? Don't we all have such questions in our lives?
The struggle is real. Note Jesus, in saving us, did not isolate us from the world. His prayer for us, in John 17:15-16 was, "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one."
The struggle is real. Yes, Rebekah! All is well with you. It is all part of the plan. If there were no struggles, there would be no victories to be won. There will be no growing, maturing, building, or development. There is wisdom in it all. There is a method in the seeming commotion.
The struggle is real. Jesus teaches us to pray, "And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one." (Matthew 6:13a) There is something amiss with the first part here, as it runs against the totality of the counsel of scriptures.
First, God does not lead us into temptation. [James 1:13] Jesus was led by the Holy Spirit to be tempted. [Matthew 4:1] Third, the word "but" is typically used to cancel or moderate the statement before it. So, in saying, "But deliver us from the evil one" what was said prior exposes us to the evil one.
In light of the above, I dare to re-write Matthew 6:13a as, "And lead us to every temptation you have ordained for our path, but deliver us from the evil one."
The Saint.
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