To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you. (Dan. 2:23)

As the prophet Daniel’s life demonstrates, we can bear almost anything when we see God working on our behalf. Daniel was given special insights into the nature and working of God, but that did not make the prophet’s life easy. In fact, acting on the revelations – such as the portion quoted above – often put Daniel’s life at risk. 

To make the Lord’s Word known, Daniel had to speak to those who did not want to hear it or would consider it offensive – even a threat. So what kept Daniel faithful? 

He knew that God had already acted with extraordinary grace to claim his soul, so Daniel trusted the Lord for whatever was still to come. He kept that trust strong by praising God for what he had done, despite not knowing what he would do. 

Daniel’s was not such a different situation from our lives. We also must learn to trust God for what will come by focusing on what he has done – including saving our soul for eternity. 

Our thanksgiving and praise keep our trust honed and engaged for the challenges that we still must face. Proclaiming God’s glory takes our focus off the magnitude of our challenge and fastens our trust on the greatness of our Lord. 

A heart that overflows with gratitude and praise for our eternal salvation is guarded from being overwhelmed by the circumstances of this life. 

Prayer:
Lord, help me praise you for grace you have already provided in order to enable me to trust you for the grace I need for present or future trials.