The answer is: He felt ill and weak

Daniel 10:8

In Daniel 10, we find our hero in a particularly vulnerable moment. If you’ve ever had a particularly vivid daydream or unsettling thought, you can imagine how Daniel felt after experiencing such intense visions by the river Hiddekel (which is actually the Tigris River, home to ancient empires). When he describes feeling ill and weak, it's more than mere physical malaise; it represented a profound spiritual disquiet.

This passage showcases how sensitive one could be to divine revelations or spiritual insights. William Blake, the poet, noted, “To see a world in a grain of sand,” hinting at how transformative profound realizations can be. Here, instead of bravely interpreting the vision, Daniel collapses under the weight of it. It echoes many times in the Bible, where even prophets like Ezekiel and Isaiah react in sheer awe and sometimes terror at divine encounters.

Interestingly, connections can be drawn to other figures who encountered the divine. Think of Moses at the burning bush or John the Revelator experiencing a vision of the heavenly realms; these were often not peaceful moments. Excitingly, this hints at humanity’s deep desire for—and sometimes fear of—communicating with the divine.

It leads to a fascinating question: If Daniel felt weak before this vision, do we sometimes underestimate the power and depth of disruption such encounters can cause in our own lives? So the next time you feel overwhelmed, remember that spiritual awakenings have a history of making even the mightiest feel vulnerable.