The Eye of God

Reflections on Suffering and Afflictions

Daniel 6:20 reads: “Is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?”

“Your God!” Daniel’s life had been an open witness to King Darius, the ruler of Babylon, who spoke these words. He recognized that Daniel was on close terms with his God, and it had been apparent by Daniel’s way of life that “he served Him continually.” Ah, that was the secret! Daniel had not been serving King Darius…he had been serving His God, continually! What a testimony concerning a true witness! And it comes from the lips of a heathen monarch! It comes from the mouth of his would-be executioner.

Bless you, Daniel! In the least likely environment, you flourished in spiritual health, like a rose growing out of a rock. Yes, the spiritual secret of this survival against odds is that the heart that is sold out to serving God is planted by Him in the rich soil of His love and nourished by devotion. Spiritual health is not dependent on any help from the outside. It is sustained by the inner strength of the union of spirit with Spirit. It will survive the cold of persecution and the flames of hate. It will come out of every experience unscathed. There will be no bitterness, no blight.

To rest content in the providence of God is to arm the soul with its most powerful defense. To dwell in God is to be engulfed in His Presence as an image is captured in the eye. The worshipping soul is captured by the eye of God and held in His embrace. Daniel was not so much in the lion’s den as he was in the Eye of God! His love for God put him there, and God’s response brought the angel to close the mouths of the lions that they gave him no harm. Devotion to God will bring the powers of heaven to the rescue of the suffering saint and shut the jaws of the devourer.

Suffering in the lives of God’s children is a problem probing the mysteries of this life and the next. Some say we would not suffer except for our sin and rebellion. While sometimes this may be true, it is not always so. Daniel was not in the lion’s den because of his sins, but because of his righteousness. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all” (Psalm 34:19). How and when that deliverance comes is a matter of divine sovereignty. In the meantime, the trusting soul will rest in His love.

Life is brutal at times, but it is not the reflection of God’s character or any indication that He is unaware or uncaring. His love for us stands totally apart from our circumstances. It is in finding the reality of His love towering above our pain that we can be lifted from it even while we may still be in it. If I demand God to take away my pain in order to prove to me His love, I am on the wrong track. My pain has nothing to do with His love. He does not love the person who is well and happy more than He loves the one who is sick and destitute. He loves because He is love, and nothing changes His character. We have to separate our hurts from His heart.

Our hope lies in living in the Spirit - God’s Presence - where there is abundant life, love, peace and joy. When we get into that place and dwell there, and train our sights on all that God is, i.e., all His mercy, His forgiveness, His power, His majesty, His authority over darkness, His unbounded grace and His fathomless love; the goodness that is in God will make its way into our consciousness. As it does, it will begin to transform our darkness into Light, our sorrow into Joy, our desolation into Hope, and our bitterness into Love. His healing power will begin to work within us, and the change will begin to manifest itself. The bitter waters will be sweetened and praise will replace complaint. God is not hiding Himself in our times of desperation. Every promise He ever made is true. Everything He ever claimed to be, He is. It is we who nullify His divine love and power by distrusting His intentions, when we need to be embracing His person, and judging Him by how Great He is rather than by the size of our personal pain. We need to get into God and find our strength and comfort there.

When we cease moaning, we will hear the singing of the birds. When we look up rather than down, we will see that the sun is shining. When we love and serve Him with the constancy of a Daniel, yes, He will deliver us from the lions and from the pit.

And if healing never comes to us or to a loved one in this life, should we complain if in infinite love and wisdom He gathers us one day into His bosom where healing is not only complete but eternal? Could it be disappointment to enter into glory and be released from the prison-house of this body of clay? Will it be defeat to be promoted and receive an eternal reward in His due time? No, for “if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). Nowhere in God’s Word are we promised immunity from the trials and tribulations of this life. No saint in the Bible escaped trouble, nor were the vicissitudes they endured the result of lack of faith. We invite consternation and confusion, frustration and discouragement, resentment and despair, if we portray faith as a magic weapon guaranteed to eliminate all the unwelcome experiences of life. It is in our struggles that God builds within us confidence in His integrity and the loyalty of love that can cry out: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13:15).

The human spirit in us does not want to hear this message, but we dare not distort the truth of the divine Word to please man’s rebellious spirit. The Spirit of Christ within our hearts is witness to the fact that we need not expect to escape suffering in this life. But in every pain, there is a promise of grace, and in every battle with adversity, an opportunity to rise to a higher level of endurance. And who shall dare to dictate to the Almighty what our lot shall be?

We have His promise: “As your days, so shall your strength be” (Deut. 33:25). Is this not enough? In the words of the songwriter: “It is the way the Master went, shall not His servants tread it still?“

We can turn back and submit to weakness and cowardice. We can deem the price too high, and choose a way demanding less sacrifice, and accept a popular message that erroneously promises total reprieve from pain as the reward of faith. However, true Biblical faith is confidence in God. It is not a blanket panacea for every problem. “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, and he will deliver us…but if not…” (Daniel 3:17, 18).

But if not, we will not compromise.

But if not, we will not defect.

But if not, we will love Him no less,

And out of that love shall eventually come our deliverance!

Our Father, we lift our eyes to You in adoration and worship, knowing that all our good comes from Your Hand, and from You we daily draw our life and strength. We rest our hearts in Your love, like a baby bird in a nest. We need no other source of consolation. We ask nothing but the gift of grace to love You more perfectly and to understand how to share this love with others in such a way that both they and we may be drawn closer to You. Grant it, O Lord, we pray, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.

From Total Love, by F. Roberts