"Is Thy God Able?"

by Toms, A. F. | Category: General | Apr 1956

What a vivid picture is portrayed for us in Daniel 6! That mighty monarch, Darius, who wielded such power, had been unable to sleep all night. Early in the morning he rose, and made haste to the lions' den. One would hardly associate this anxious, troubled man with the king whose dominion reached to all peoples, nations and languages, and under whose signature an interdict could never be changed, but it was the very same man. His conscience had been strangely troubled, and even the strains of music had failed to quieten it. To send a man to the den of lions would not normally have troubled Darius, but there was something about Daniel that was different. He served a God about whom Darius knew little, but the little he knew made him fear to tamper with one of His servants. And it was this fear that stirred the king early that morning and sent him running to the den with the cry, "Is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?

Is thy God able? What a challenge! Daniel was a living proof of the answer, and with a ring of triumph he shouts back, "0 king, live for ever. My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me." The divine record almost breathes with the relief of the king. "Then was the king exceeding glad," it says, and he "commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den ... and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he had trusted in his God." Yes, please note that. Because he had trusted in his God. Great things happen when the mighty power of God links up with a man's simple faith. God's power and His servant's faith-there is nothing that is impossible to such a combination. How clearly the Lord Jesus impressed this fact upon His disciples!

"All things are possible with God " (Mark 10.27).

"All things are possible to him that believeth" (Mark 9.23).

The God who can shut the lions' mouths is able for anything, but sometimes faith is lacking in His servants, and His mighty power is restrained. It was so with Israel, and Psalm 78 records,

"They turned again and tempted God, and limited (R.V.M.) the Holy

One of Israel." God limited by His people! What a solemn thing!

He wanted to work among them but their unbelief restrained Him.

The same thing happened again among the same people when the

LordJesus was in Nazareth. "He could there do no mighty work and He marvelled because of their unbelief" (Mark 6.5 and 6).

Unbelief is a fearful thing. John says, "He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar." We shudder at the thought that such a thing could have been possible of us. How small our faith is when it comes to putting His word to the test! We would not think of disbelieving our own friends, for to doubt their word would be to cast a reflection upon their character. But what of our God? young Christian.

Is thy God able? Oh, yes, we all firmly believe He is, but young David in the vale of Elah believed that God was able to do a mighty deed through him, and that was what made David the man that he was. It is said of William Carey, the man who laboured in India, that he said, "Attempt great things for God, and expect great things from God." Let us then rise to it, for God will surely do great things through us, if only we are fully assured in our own hearts that "what He has promised He is able also to perform."

Toms, A. F. | Apr 1956
General