Daniel’s amazing courage comes across powerfully in this book. His willingness to face up to tyrannical kings and even hungry lions is very impressive, but that isn’t the whole story. We also meet Daniel when he is feeling ill and weak. The vision he received about the future in the previous chapter left him feeling terrible for three weeks. He was in a state of mourning throughout that time and commented: “my strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak” (Daniel 10:8). Like Daniel, we can all identify times when we have felt on top of the world and then other moments when we have felt completely weak and useless. None of us can be strong all the time. It was in this time of great weakness that God sent a messenger to Daniel telling him how precious he was to God.

When things go badly, or we are overwhelmed by the challenges of life, it is very easy to look down on ourselves. We may feel unimportant and of no value to anyone. Our need in such moments is to hear God reminding us of our importance to him. The Bible often introduces us to people who had a low view of themselves. Moses felt unqualified to lead the people of Israel because of his difficulties with speaking. Elijah was bold and strong in his contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel but turned to jelly when he learnt that Queen Jezebel was determined to kill him. Jeremiah felt sure that he was too young to be useful to God. For any number of reasons, we might feel weak and inadequate, and in those moments, we need to look to God and understand how important we are to him. Other people might not value us or recognise our importance, but God always does.

What does it mean to you to know that you are precious to God?

Loving Father, thank you for your constant belief in me. Amen