So, I got two awesome Vacation Bible School stories in Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego & Daniel in the lions den. Then the heavy, weighty prophecies began to unravel, and then in chapter 9 Daniel flips the script a bit. Daniel has witnessed these terrible visions of what is to come and is absolutely mortified by what he has seen. He proceeds to say in Chapter 9, Verse 3, "So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes." What follows after this is in my opinion one of the most humble, broken prayers to rise up out of the scriptures. Daniel pours out his heart in agony it seems on behalf of not himself, but his people and God's people Israel. David writes in Psalm 51:17 that "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." To me, this is exactly what Daniel is offering as a sacrifice to God, a "broken and contrite heart".
So, after Gabriel explains even more of what is to come, Daniel is found on the Tigris with three angels who give final interpretation of all that has been revealed to him. The passage that really jumped out at me, and took hold of my heart was found amidst this final conversation between Daniel and the angels accompanying him. In verse 8, Daniel says, "As for me, I heard but could not understand; 'so I said, my lord what will be the outcome of these events?' He said, 'Go your way Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. Many will be purged, purified, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.' " (8-10)
Purged. Purified. Refined. These are words we don't often examine under our "religious microscopes", but I think we should take the time to observe them and to also understand what this text is saying. In Revelation 21, John gives us insight into the radiance and glory of the Bride of Christ, the New Jerusalem. In verse 11, "having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very costly stone". Verse 18, "the city was pure gold, like clear glass". So, its pure as gold, clear as glass, we get the picture. Yet, do we? I mean, we're not talking about some fairy tale story, this is THE story.. The beginning we have all been waiting for..
So, I believe that the angels are giving deep insight into the process of purification that God wants to do with His children. He is a holy and blameless and righteous God and He is demanding a pure bride for His Son. I know that in my own life, during seasons of God's pruning, I feel beaten down and bruised and battered, like there is no end to the flogging I am receiving spiritually. Yet, tonight I received new insight into the heart of God, that He is not saying, "hey! Sin a whole bunch so that I can keep purifying you and make you what I want." Rather, I feel that the Father wants us to hate that sin that chains us in disobedience, but absolutely adore and rejoice in the fact that He loves us enough to continue to discipline us, even in light of our shame and disobedience. Like any good father would, God wants to purge us, he wants to refine us to be like pure gold.. He wants to purify us from all our unrighteousness, the stuff that clings to the edges of our being and plagues our destinies as children of the One True God. As I was reading this text, I just kept thinking oh my goodness, why on earth do I fill myself with anger and plead injustice when it is my injustice that has lead to my own false representation of God's TRUE justice. A little confusing, i know, but my point is that we have to get a higher vision of who God wants us to be in likeness of Himself.
In Romans 8:28-29, we see exactly what our purpose is as Children of God. "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whome He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren." Genesis 1:26 also says, "let Us create man in our image, according to Our likeness." Obviously something went horribly wrong, we know that this something is sin entering the world, destroying the fellowship between us and God, and making it impossible for us to be reflections of His image in flesh. Therefore, we see that our purpose as creation is to be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. 1 John 3:2-3 should comfort us in the fact that although we have no idea what that "image" looks like now, on that day when Jesus comes, we will be given perfect understanding and insight as to who we were created to be.
So, my whole point in all of this is that we must begin to pray diligently for this purging, this refinement that God so lovingly desires to bring upon us. He wants nothing less than to bring us into His presence and have us pure as gold in His sight, and as fleshly sinners reaking of lives filled with disobedience and rebellion against the greatest gift we could possibly ask for, this is impossible. So, my prayer is that we, as the body of Christ, may begin to understand why God is putting us through seasons of pruning and hardtimes and purging, and that in this we may begin to see the grace of God abounding in His undying love for those whom He created.
Father, I ask that you would send purging on me, that You would refine me like gold so that I might be brought into my destiny as Your child. I ask Father, that You would send purification to Your church, Your body, that we might be presented as a pure bride, an offering to Your Son that is worthy to be His forever. I pray for purging, Father, make us golden.
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