Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or tell the king the interpretation. Then King Belshazzar became greatly terrified and his face turned pale, and his lords were perplexed.”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, August 16, 2024
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
The best horror isn’t about what is shown, but about what is not shown. Mind you, I’m no fan of horror, but my daughter is, and she’s told me a lot about what makes horror really work. In this story, Belshazzar, who like his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar has played fast and loose with God’s sacred possessions, is throwing a party in which he is defiling said possessions and out of nowhere, disembodied fingers appear and starts writing on the wall. But what really terrifies Belshazzar isn’t the hand, though that’s scary enough, but the fact that no one can interpret the writing. It’s a mystery that holds horror because the king knows it’s something absolutely awful but he has no way of preparing for or defending himself from what it might be.
Not knowing something was always a trigger for me. It’s about control. If others knew something I didn’t, or if something was completely new to me, my anxiety (and sometimes shame) used to go through the roof. The only solution I have found is to turn absolutely everything over to God. I don’t have to know. I just have to do the next right action and trust that God’s got the outcome and, even if it’s bad, will be right there with me as I deal with the fallout.
I still have moments of anxiety around not knowing. I’m not perfect, for goodness’ sake! But I am far better able to stay calm in the face of the unknown, and I credit God for the serenity I experience.
When have I been faced with an unknown? What feelings did it kick up in me?
