Piercing the Unseen Realm!

Reading through the last three chapters of Daniel, the thought that stood out was the reality of an unseen world, particularly a spiritual world where battles often rage outside of our view.

Daniel was given a peek into these things, for he was a part of this battle. He was participating in this realm of spiritual warfare through prayer and fasting. The Bible says an unusual man appeared to him (Daniel 10:2–6) and spoke. Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people in the latter days. For the vision is for days yet to come.” (Daniel 10:12–14, ESV) Daniel’s prayer and fasting initiated battles in this unseen world.

This reminds me of a passage in the New Testament that speaks to this same reality for us as believers. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:11–12, NLT) 

Umm…wow! Yes, this is a reality. We are engaged in a battle. Our weakness is to misidentify the combatants in this battle as flesh and blood when the enemy pierces the veil from the unseen world into ours. People are not the enemy, but the enemy often works through them. However, we can withstand our enemy in many ways (Ephesians 6:13–17), and by prayer, we, too, pierce this veil into the unseen world from ours. Notice what Paul says…Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. (Ephesians 6:18, NLT)

Believers, our prayers are an act of warfare in the unseen realm, initiating battles between Heaven’s armies and the prince of darkness. May we not underestimate prayer’s power, necessity, duty, and victory! Are you a praying believer?


Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Daniel 10-12.

Taking the Stand!

Weaponizing a judicial system to silence or eliminate someone is nothing new. We see it in Daniel’s day, just like our day. In our reading, we see an eighty-two-year-old Daniel thrown to the lions. Why is he being thrown to the lions? Not because he murdered anyone. Not because of corruption or treason. Not because of stealing. It is because he worships God! Notice what Daniel’s political opponents said of him. Then the other administrators and high officers began searching for some fault in the way Daniel was handling government affairs, but they couldn’t find anything to criticize or condemn. He was faithful, always responsible, and completely trustworthy. So they concluded, “Our only chance of finding grounds for accusing Daniel will be in connection with the rules of his religion.” (Daniel 6:4–5, NLT) So the heathen weaponized the judicial system and threw a good man to the lions.

As I thought about Daniel’s life, this kind of drama wasn’t new to him. As someone high up in the political class for most of his life, Daniel survived four different kings: Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius the Mede, and Cyrus the Great. This was unheard of. Lots of heads usually rolled during regime changes, but not Daniel’s. He stood calm, firm, and secure amid a lot of swirling drama. When the law was passed making it illegal to pray to God, the Bible says, When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously. (Daniel 6:10, ESV) Wow, talk about taking a stand! Talk about a foundation upon which he stood!

Times haven’t changed! Today’s world is full of evil people creating drama for the righteous (2 Thessalonians 3:1–2). It is not because Christians are dangerous people; it is because the heathen rage and imagine vain things against God (Psalm 2:1–2). And since we as Christians are not above our Master, we too will suffer persecution as Jesus did (John 15:20). However, like Daniel, we too can take a stand calmly, firmly, and securely regardless of the weaponization of the ungodly. No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.” (Isaiah 54:17, ESV) So let us stand, and if need be, take the stand amid the rage of the ungodly and glorify our Father who is in Heaven! (Ephesians 6:13; Hebrews 12:1–3)


Thank you for joining me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Daniel 4-6.

Elbow room!

In this morning’s reading, Joshua continues to assign Israel their land grants. But there is drama! The descendants of Joseph complain that their allotment is too small. They want more elbow room! But is the land really too small for them? Are they really too big for the allotment?

The descendants of Joseph came to Joshua and asked, “Why have you given us only one portion of land as our homeland when the Lord has blessed us with so many people?” Joshua replied, “If there are so many of you, and if the hill country of Ephraim is not large enough for you, clear out land for yourselves in the forest where the Perizzites and Rephaites live.” The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have iron chariots, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.” (Joshua 17:14–16, NLT)

Is the land too small? Is the enemy too strong? Joshua isn’t buying their story! It’s not that the land is too small; both the faith and the effort of Ephraim and Manasseh are too small! The land is large enough, but clearing it will take a fair amount of work. The enemy that occupies their land is determined to stay, and they have chariots of iron…scary!

Though they have an allotment of land, God is not handing it to His people without some effort on their part. It will take faith to overcome the scary and hard work to clear the land! So what does Joshua do? He tells them to get to work and encourages them that they will be victorious! In other words, he doesn’t give them the “easy” land, especially since they have many hands to make light work!

Then Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more than one portion. The forests of the hill country will be yours as well. Clear as much of the land as you wish, and take possession of its farthest corners. And you will drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even though they are strong and have iron chariots.” (Joshua 17:17–18, NLT)

What a picture of the Christian life! We have a determined enemy, the devil, with iron chariots; he and his problems do not go away quickly. We tend to want the accessible land, the easy way out; we just want things to “fall into place!” But that is not reality! And like Joshua, God doesn’t buy our story that elbow room is the real problem. The problem is usually our faith in Him and our effort to obey and do His will.

So what does God do? He encourages us to be strong in the power of His might (not ours), strap on the armor of God, stand our ground, hold up the shield of faith, stay alert, persist in prayer, and put our hands to the plow—in other words, let’s get to work!

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10–11, NLT)

Yes, the battle is the Lord’s, but the elbow room is ours!

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. (Galatians 6:9, NLT)


Thank you for joining with me as I read and journal chronologically through the Bible! This devotional reflection comes from Joshua 16:1-18:28.


A nation on the move!

Israel is not standing still! They are on the move! Forty years of wandering, dying, and remolding are ending. Though they struggle with temptations like the previous generation, their composure differs. Israel is on the move, moving on to a new chapter in their history! Standing tall in the reading today is the theme of victory!

With new levels come new devils! Yes, Israel is on the move, but so are Israel’s enemies. Israel is attacked three times in these two chapters. In the first battle, the enemy heard of Israel’s progress and attacked. In the second battle, Israel requested to pass through Amorite territory. The Amorites attacked. In the third battle, seeing the progress of Israel, the king of Bashan attacked. Three times, the enemy initiated the struggle, but God gave victory! Guess where Israel is camped now? They are just east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho!

During these times of attack, God told Israel something amazing!

The LORD said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you, along with all his people and his land….” (Numbers 21:34, NLT)

Israel’s biggest threat was fear, not the enemy. Wow!

In our Christian walk with God, we, like Israel, have an enemy. When we are on the move with God, we, too, can expect opposition. Our enemy, however, is not flesh and blood. Our enemy may oppose us through people, but people are not the enemy.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 6:12, NLT)

Our enemy is not greater than God! Because of this, victory should stand tall in our lives! Believer, be not afraid! I like how the Psalmist put it into words for the rest of us…

The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. (Psalm 27:1–3, NLT)


Thanks for joining me in my adventure to read the Bible chronologically! Today’s post comes from Numbers 21-22. Tomorrow, I will be reading Numbers 23-25.