{"id":23664,"date":"2018-08-13T03:30:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T10:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=23664"},"modified":"2018-08-09T13:45:50","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T20:45:50","slug":"august-13-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2018\/08\/13\/august-13-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"August 13, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cIn the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me\u2014to me, Daniel\u2014after the one that appeared to me the first time.\u201d\u00a0<\/em>Daniel 8:1<\/p>\n

Life In Between<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Remarkable events are few and far between for us. Most of us don\u2019t walk around touching people and healing them. Most of us don\u2019t move mountains with our prayers. Many of us have grown children who did, in fact, depart from the ways of the Lord that we taught them. Most of us don\u2019t have prophetic visions with global consequences. (For this devotional, I put all arguments aside as to whether we SHOULD be doing, or be able to do, these things.)<\/p>\n

In today\u2019s Scripture, Daniel has a second vision. The first vision was two-ish years earlier. My curious mind wants to know about Daniel\u2019s life in between those two visions. He had numerous sunrises and sunsets, with seasons coming and going, planting and harvesting. We do not read of him living only for the next vision. Even biblical people, whose remarkable moments were immortalized forever in God\u2019s Word, had lives \u201cin between\u201d that seemed ordinary.<\/p>\n

What did they think about as they sewed clothes and mended roofs, kneaded dough, tended flocks, or walked some distance to get their daily jugs of water? What were their loves like\u2014their marriages, births, and deaths? What joys came to them in their daily lives? What sorrows? What hardships? What contentment?<\/p>\n

It has been appointed to us to live in the in-betweens. Not every day contains a prophetic vision, nor even an important conversation. The way we live our days is often just the preparation for the special moments God has prepared for us. We live our lives while waiting.<\/p>\n

I doubt if Daniel lamented not being used again by God for that whole two years. I doubt if he worried that he was doing something wrong. I\u2019m sure he followed faithfully, ready to be used if God so chose, but occupying the space where God had placed him\u2014as a captive in Babylon. He had been used so many times in the past in the lives of kings and in the government, but he didn\u2019t pine for the next big thing.<\/p>\n

If we find ourselves living \u201cin between,\u201d unaware of God using us for anything out of the ordinary, let us be content to grow and mature. Let us seek to know Him more through His Word, cultivating intimacy with Him. Let us be aware of His presence, in wonder of His creation, trusting His timing. Let us learn to pray and be steadfast. We can \u201ckeep our lamps trimmed\u201d: confess our sins, keep a clean heart and right spirit, and walk in love\u2014keeping ourselves ready for Him to use us.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlorious Father, mature us as we wait on You. You have appointed the daily things to make us ready. Let us be faithful in that. In Jesus\u2019 Name, Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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