We were tired and exhausted. Our injured mate lay before us lit by the soft glow of our helmet lights. The darkness in the underground cave complex surrounded us and closed in. The cave-in had cut our return to the surface and all we could do was wait for the SAR Watch to expire.
Our water was low and time ticked away so slowly. 2 days.
The thought of going nuts or breathing our last began to encroach upon our minds. The darkness, ink black darkness, was occasionally dispelled as someone would switch on an ever fading helmet lamp. Conserving batteries was a good idea as each in turn would share a little light and seeing us all together in that burst of light was comforting.
3 days. Would anyone come? The SAR Watch had expired ages ago. What was the delay?
When we thought no one would come and that this was to be our last … tap, tap, tap.
The Search and Rescue crew from Mount Isa Mines had finally arrived! It was our Eleventh Hour!
Daniel faced his eleventh hour:
At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. …I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
Daniel 10:2,3,8
Just as Mount Isa Mines Search and Rescue had responded to the expired SAR Watch and sent a team to find us, God heard Daniel’s prayers and had sent an Angel to respond:
Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
Daniel 10:12
There was a time in the cave when we wondered if the SAR Teams would come. The fact was that they were on their way the minute the SAR Watch expired. They were delayed trying to follow our markers. They were delayed…but still coming!
But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
Daniel 10:13
God had dispatched His Angel to respond to Daniel. The Angel was delayed due to a spiritual battle with the ‘prince of the Persian kingdom’.
Have you been crying out to God and seeking an answer?
He has heard your prayers. He is responding…maybe not quite in the way you would like. But know this: Even if the answer is delayed, it is on the way. The Angel, sent as a messenger to Daniel, called in reinforcements so that he could get the message through to Daniel. The delay did not go beyond what Daniel could bear or endure.
…I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
Daniel 10:2,3,8
But, God’s Answer had arrived at the Eleventh Hour!