12 Then you will say on that day,
“I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
3 Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
[a]Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
5 Praise the Lord in song, for He has done [b]excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth.
6 Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
“Then you will say…” Though this was likely a comforting thought, it didn’t negate the fact that these people were going to suffer the judgment that God had decreed previously. And likely, few of the people who were hearing this would make it back to their homes in their lifetime. It would be their children and grandchildren who would return and rebuild their homes.
Yet I think of those like Daniel and his friends, who determined to serve God even while in captivity, and it reminds me of something I watched yesterday. The characters in this show were faced with a dilemma. They were stuck in a futuristic prison, on an island of sorts, with no access to the one and only door. All around them was sheer drop-offs.
Then one character surmised that if they would only act as if the path to the door existed, it would appear, and they would walk safely out of this prison. Eventually, they took the step, and the path appeared, right under their feet. They found freedom after taking something that one might describe as a “step of faith”.
Those like Daniel lived that faith, knowing that someday their people would return to Israel. But even more important, they knew that God would be their comfort and salvation even in a foreign land. Though they were far from their homes, they chose to give thanks to God, and call on His name, and “Make known His deeds among the peoples…”
That could have never happened without the terrible tragedy of war and captivity, but because they embraced this passage, amazing things happened. Kings were brought low before God almighty, and decreed that all “men are to fear and tremble before the God of Daniel;” (Daniel 4 & 6)
When bad things happen to us, and they will, we have Jesus’ promise to assure us of that, we can wallow in our pain, or we can follow along with those of old, and proclaim the words of this chapter in our own lives. For they are as true now as they ever were:
I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
For although You were angry with me,
Your anger is turned away,
And You comfort me.Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the Lord God is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.