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I spent a few hours in my husband’s truck the other day
helping him make a repair. It was actually a lot of fun, and I learned a new
word: bezel. A bezel is a secure but removable cover for the inner parts of a
car. There’s probably a bezel over your radio system and your dashboard,
keeping it smooth and attractive.
It might be silly, but I really enjoy that word! I love
learning new words because they push me to expand my thoughts.
Previously, I would have just called that part of the truck “the
plastic part” or “the dashboard,” but those terms aren’t really accurate. When
I say “bezel” the term applies very specifically. It represents the desire to
keep the mess both protected and out of sight.
There’s another word that I’ve been learning the definition
of recently: reveal.
Yes, I knew the term already. But as I read Daniel 2, it’s like
I’m re-learning it.
In Daniel, the Lord “reveals” a whole lot.
For instance, in the NIV the chapter uses the refrain 8
times.
What does it mean to “reveal?” Often, the word used in the
chapter is related to “galah” in Hebrew, which is more literally translated “uncover”
or “remove.” It’s the same word used to describe the Israelites being removed,
or carried away, from their land to be brought into exile in Babylon.
Though not considered so wonderful or miraculous, that, too,
was orchestrated by the Lord.
Daniel 2 describes King Nebuchadnezzar having a troubling
dream and growing so agitated when his best magicians and wise men couldn’t
interpret it that he commanded the whole lot be put to death. But Daniel
stepped up.
He didn’t know what the dream was or what it meant, but
Daniel knew that He could pray to the One who did know…the one who does know.
God saw fit to uncover that which was in darkness, to cease
to protect a mystery and begin to employ it instead. As Daniel received the
vision and interpretation from the Lord, he began to praise God:
“He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
He
reveals deep and hidden things;
he
knows what lies in darkness,
and
light dwells with him.
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of
you,
you have made known to us the dream of the
king.”
-2:21-23
What is it that dwells in darkness these days in my life and
in the lives of those I love? The One who reveals will bring all things to
light! (Luke 8:17)
In verse 30, Daniel continues on, saying: “As for me, this mystery has been revealed to
me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your
Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went
through your mind.”
What the Lord reveals to us isn’t about how special we are
or how wise we seek to be. The mysteries of the Lord, the things hidden in
darkness, the things we wonder but are afraid to ask about…these are all known
to God.
His perfect will includes moments of unveiling, uncovering,
and carrying us away from what we once thought into a new place that is equally
a part of His plan. He reveals stuff so that we can know it, so that we can be
warned, humbled, and corrected (as in Daniel 4.) But also simply that we better
understand.
I’m glad I re-learned the word “reveal” recently, and even
more grateful to see the Lord actively at work uncovering things formerly shrouded
in darkness.
Are there any words the Lord is re-teaching you?
Happy to be linking to: RaRaLinkup and Testimony Tuesday!