The Ancient of Days

Sharon JaynesGeneral Inspiration, Names of God 64 Comments

 

“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)

 

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 chapter 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’ Name, Amen.

What do You Think? 

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 and say, “I’m not worried about today. God is on His throne!”

Want More? 

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 here to take a peek.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments 64

  1. I’m not worried about today! God is on His throne! Even as my husband goes on a job interview,I pray my LORD will give John favor with his possible employers!

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  3. I’m not worried about today or tomorrow, God is on the throne! Praise God, He is, has been and always will be the one true God….and He is AWESOME!

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  10. Im not worried about today, God is on His Throne.
    Oh yes He is give Praise ALWAYS AMEN thanks again
    Love this lv ya alway Teena

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  11. I’m not worried about today b/c my God is on His throne! Amen and amen!
    Sharon~ Your devotional today about your growing up years almost matched mine exactly. You were blessed to have a Christian place to go to escape home. For me, I loved school b/c it was my escape. I played sports and even when the season of a certain sport was over, I’d continue to stay at school “to practice.” Looking back now as an adult, I knew that back then, subconsciously, I stayed at school to avoid going home. Praise Jesus who came into my life and has helped me overcome a lot of childhood issues.

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  13. Not worried about today – or tomorrow, or the day after that. God is on His throne – and always has been – and always will be.
    Thank you for your post. I forwarded it to my girlfriends. We have all been discussing this very truth for weeks!

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  15. I’m not worried about today or tomorrow! God is on the throne and what a awesome and wonderful God we serve. Thank you, Jesus!

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  17. I’m not worried about today, or any day
    ! God is on the throne and has my back and peace in my family.

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  19. Oh I wish I could say that I’m not worried about today. I know GOD is on His throne! The problem is me. Full-time employment has been non-existent for 3 and 1/2 years. Of course being older doesn’t help, but I know GOD can do anything! I wish I would learn whatever lesson He is trying to teach me. I wish the world didn’t say that long-term unemployed people are not looking for jobs anymore because that’s just not true. We are not counted, but we continue to seek jobs to meet our financial needs. My unemployment money ran out long ago. My church finished helping me long ago. I just want to be working full-time and not a burden to anyone. I want to feel like other people do. I want to pay my financial obligations. I want GOD to help me please.

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  22. I am trying to not worry about today or tomorrow as my husband still searches for a fulltime job and my daughter’s boyfriend is stationed in Afghanistan. He is still on His throne and is in control regardless of what is going on in my life!

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  24. I’m not worried about today! God is on His throne! God is good all the time – He puts a song of praise on this heart of mine – God is good – God is good – ALL THE TIME!

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  28. I am not worried or anxious about anything as God is on the throne. What a awesome n amazing God he is!

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  29. I am not worried about today, or any other day. I know that The Ancient of Days protects me and guides my steps. Even when I walk off the path that He has set for me, He is always waiting for me to come back to Him. I say forgive me Lord for stepping off the path and His promise in 1 John 1:9 forgives me and He welcomes his daughter back.

    I am so thankful that God chose me to be one of His daughters and I will do my best to walk with Him for the rest of my life.

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  30. Am not thinking about those sites, wont b dere to enjoy d wiew, i tink heaven wil be alright, as long as ur there, as long as there is u (Ancient of Days)

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  31. I’m not worried about today,God is on His Throne! Thankyou Jesus!
    For all the behind the scene’s that i don’t understand or see but you are there to never forsake or leave me in my circumstances of life:) Priase God!!!!:)

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  32. I am not worried about yesterday, today, or tomorrow. Jesus lives and God is on the throne! My life is in his hands

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  34. Im not worried about today or tomorrow! GOD is on the throne! No weapon formed against me shall prosper because I know whose I am…I am the righteousness of GOD in Christ!!

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  35. God is the Ancient of Days now and forever. I know He holds tomorrow and forever after!
    Praise His Holy Name!!

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  36. “I’m NOT worried about today. God is on His throne!” And I pray for all those who do not have this assurance . . . I pray that the Holy Spirit would work in their lives and bring them to know the “Ancient of Days”, that they might have the power of knowing that God is on His throne!! Amen!!

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  37. I’m not worried about today. God is on His throne! Thank you for your encouraging/spiritual post! I start my days with girlfriends in God, and my days are great!!!

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  38. “I’m not worried about today. God is on His throne!” And I know He will always sit on the throne in my heart as well.

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  43. “My husband is in jail awaiting trial, but you know what…I’m not worried! God is on His throne; yesterday, today and forever!”

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  46. The love and the peace that comes your words calm my desperation in moments of tencion thank you Sharon that God Blesses you

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  50. Today is my bday. I wont worry about today, when worry begins to creep in my mind, Lord please remind me that YOU are on the throne.

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  55. I’m not worried today or tomorrow. But sometimes I have to remind myself. God is in total control of everything and everyone. I think of Jesus return and I rejoice and praise God.

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  56. I am not worried today because God is on the throne!
    Thank you for your devotional. I enjoy reading all of them. I thank God for your gift of writing and teaching his word. I thank you for sharing this gift with all of us. God Bless you and your family.

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  58. I”m not worried anymore! God is on His throne and always has been, even when I didn’t see Him. But it is still hard to escape the realities of this world because the world doesn’t wait for God. While I wait on Him, things happen and it is tough. I do know that He cares for me and will bring me through this horrible storm. There will be calm days and green pastures. Praise God!

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  60. You know Sharon, this reading this morning was fitting perfectly into what God wants to say to me. In other words, He spoke through your words to me this morning. I have been struggling to get the extra pounds off of me that I managed to gain over the winter months. And this morning when I jumped on the scale, I weighed more than ever! I was so discouraged. So I brought it directly to Him, and placed it at His feet…knowing that’s where it had belonged all along. I want to get healthy again, and where better to go?? Yours wasn’t the first thing I read this morning, but it fit in perfectly to the other things I read. So perfectly! He can help me…and I shouldn’t be looking anywhere else. Thank you for being faithful to Him, and sharing with all of us every morning. My sisters and I read your devotionals daily, and they help us through this life so much. In Christ we remain!

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  62. All these years later and I can say… I’m not worried, God is still on His throne. Greater is He that’s in me than he that’s in the world.

    Reply

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