When I think of Paul and Silas singing praises to God, having been beaten, and chained and imprisoned. When I think of Daniel at peace in the Lions den, or young David confidently approaching the almost 10 foot Goliath, and many other examples in scripture of people confidently facing extraordinary stresses and danger it makes me wonder, how. I believe that part of the answer is found in Zephaniah 3:17 where it says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior.” I believe they were convinced, as we can be, that no matter how it looks, or how it feels, the Lord is there, in our situation, not as an observer, but as a victorious warrior. Not just a warrior, but a VICTORIOUS WARRIOR. In other words, One Who wins!!! It may not look like the good guys are winning, but you need to know, He always wins. The Resurrection shouts that, as the ultimate example, and reality throughout human history, including your history and mine. HE WINS!!! Be confident in that. Listen to the rest of that verse in Zeph.
“The LORD your God is in your midst,
A victorious warrior.
He will dance over you with joy,
He will quiet you in His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”
Think about what that says. He is a jealous Lovesick Warrior who is doing battle over you while you are under assault. As He battles on your behalf He is is dancing over you and singing His eternal love song over you. This great romantic Warrior’s is smitten with love for you. That is His motivation in battle, and “love never fails.” Allow His love for you to bring quiet to your heart in the midst of your turmoil, knowing that this fierce Eternal Knight is fighting on your behalf, for the sake of love. He can’t, He won’t lose.