April 9, 2013
The Ancient of Days
Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth
“I kept looking until thrones were set up, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow and the hair of His head like pure wool.” (Daniel 7:9 NASB)
Friend to Friend
Hip huggers. Bellbottoms. Tie dyed t-shirts. Platform shoes. Guitars. Loud Music. Pass it On. Bibles. Teenagers. Long stringy hair parted down the middle on both boys and girls. Put all that together and you have a snapshot of some of the best days of my teen years.
I became a Christian when I was fourteen. It was called the Jesus Movement back in the seventies, and Jesus moved right into my heart to stay. My parents were not Christians at the time, and home was not a happy place. Our home teemed with tension and vacillated between periods of violent bouts of fighting and passive-aggressive weeks of silence.
Soon after my decision to follow Christ, a group of Christian business men in my community had a vision to open a Christian coffeehouse. Their dream was to provide a safe place for the teens to congregate and grow in their faith. Their hope was to bring in college-aged Bible teachers on weeknights and contemporary Christian bands on the weekend.
God was all in favor of loving on our merry band of Jesus lovin’, hormone powered, tie-dyed teens, and provided the perfect venue for the dream to materialize. Right smack dab in the middle of our sleepy little downtown, tucked in a side street alcove, sat an abandoned bar that had been shut down for selling alcohol to minors. The name of the bar? The Ancient of Days. Talk about redemption! What the devil meant for evil God meant for good (Genesis 50:20).
They bought the building and kept the name. Sometimes God is so outlandishly obvious you just have to laugh.
At fifteen, I wasn’t sure what the Ancient of Days actually meant, but this cubbyhole tucked between a ladies’ dress shop and a photography studio became my refuge in an uncertain world. Now, as an adult, I soak in the Name, steep in the Name, marinate in the Name. He is my Ancient of Days who always has been and always will be watching over my life...watching over your life. “Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love,” (Ephesians 1:5 MSG).
The name Ancient of Days was used only by the prophet Daniel. He had a vision of four world empires that rose to great power and prominence, only to eventually fall and crumble into insignificance. When a fifth world power emerged, a power that many theologians believe represents the anti-Christ of the end times, the Ancient of Days took His seat on the throne.
I encourage you to go back and read all of Daniel’s vision recorded in Daniel 7 And while I will never totally understand what the vision means, I can grab hold of the Name, The Ancient of Days, with both hands. He always has been and always will be. He had no predecessor and He’ll have no successor. You can’t impeach Him and He’s not going to resign. He had no beginning and He’ll have no end. He simply IS. While everything around us changes, The Ancient of Days remains the same.
I’m reminded of the words to the old hymn by Chalmers Smith:
Immortal, invisible, God only wise,
In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,
Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,
Almighty, victorious, Thy great name we praise.
The Ancient of Days was a safe haven during my tumultuous childhood – an old bar turned sanctuary. The Ancient of Day is a safe haven for all my tomorrows – an unchanging God who defies time.
Whatever you are going through today, know this, God is on His throne. He’s in control. I am not on the throne. The President is not on the throne. World powers are not on the throne. The Ancient of Days is on the throne. His rule is right and His reign is sure.
Let’s Pray
I praise You, Ancient of Days. When I feel like my life is changing too quickly and too often, I rest in knowing that You never change. You are the Ancient of Days who sits of the throne. You had no beginning and will have no end. Your rule is right and Your reign is sure.
In Jesus’s Name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
The Name, Ancient of Days, did not point to an elderly ruler in a feeble sense, but to an eternally divine ruler in an all-powerful sense. He is the Eternal God with Sovereign rule. The Ancient of Days points to God as the Divine Judge. That is good news and bad news.
Look up the Romans 8:1 and note the good news.
Look up Romans 10:9-13 and note the bad news.
I can remember saying to my son when he was a teenager, “I was not born yesterday. I know what’s going on here.” Well girlfriend, God was not born yesterday. He was not born at all! He has seen it all. He sees is it all. How does that make you feel?
If you are so glad that God is on His throne, click over to my blog post at www.sharonjaynes.com and say, “I’m not worried about today. God is on His throne!”
More from the Girlfriends
God is the Ancient of Days…and you can trust Him. If you enjoy these on-line devotions, then you’ll love our GiG book, Trusting God. It has 12 weeks of devotions dedicated to Trusting God in every situation. Click hereto take a peek.
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