AN ENCOUNTER WITH GOD
What happens when man comes into contact with God and encounters him face to face? Daniel 10 details an encounter that Daniel, one of the most exemplary men mentioned in the Bible, had with God. Numerous lessons are evident-
- God chooses the nature of such encounters. Daniel’s encounter takes place in a most unexpected manner when he was standing on the banks of the Tigris river. While man in his vanity, might want to meet with God, he is still only a man. He has been created by God and owes his existence to God and cannot order God’s actions. By the nature of the world we find ourselves in, God has chosen to remain invisible and it requires faith for man to know God and commune with him. Seeking after a physical encounter with God is certainly not recommended. Rather, a person needs to humbly submit to God and desire to grow in faith. If God however chooses to reveal himself in a physical manner, that should be considered a gift and received.
- God reveals himself to those who are prepared. Daniel was a person who was highly esteemed in God’s sight. In the words of the angel, Gabriel, “As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed” (Daniel 9:23). In addition, he had been fasting and praying for the 3 weeks preceding the vision. If ever there was a man who was in sync with God, it was Daniel and it doesn’t seem surprising that God chose to reveal himself to him.
- An encounter with God is overwhelming. “—–the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. So I was left alone gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.” (Daniel 10:7,8). Man does not recognize the enormous gap between the power of God and the helplessness of man. And in a physical encounter, that gap becomes obvious with death-like consequences. In fact, the Bible does allude to the fact that if man were to come face to face with God, he would die. But for Jesus who is our mediator and blunts the power of God, the close communion that disciples of Christ today enjoy with God would not be possible.
- An encounter with God has a purpose. In this case God revealed to Daniel one of the most elaborate prophecies written in the Bible and what was to happen to the Jewish nation and the community of believers towards the end times. Daniel’s desire was always to serve God and this encounter with God did not become a bragging right for him, rather a means to guide and encourage God’s people. And that summarizes the purpose of any such rare encounter for a human being here on earth- even if it were to happen, it becomes a means to serve and honor God.
