Good morning to you all.
Today we are looking at the book of Zephaniah but before we begin, let me introduce myself. My name is Claire and I live in Bridgend with my wonderful husband Tony who is a retired calligrapher.
One of my favourite pieces of calligraphy that Tony has created is of Zephaniah 3:17. This is a well-known verse which is full of encouragement to those of us who love God and have placed our faith in Him. It reads:
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Before I look at that verse in more detail, let me tell you something about the book of Zephaniah as a whole.
The book of Zephaniah is as pertinent today as it was when it was written about 2,600 years ago. The world hasn't changed and neither has God. Zephaniah's main purpose in writing it was to shake the people of Judah out of their sin and complacency and to urge them to return to God. Look around the world today and that message is as true and urgent as it ever was.
The book of Zephaniah focuses on 2 of God's characteristics, namely His need for justice and His love.
God is just and holy. Zephaniah is warning the people that God will send judgement to those who are wicked and go against His will.
However, the final verses of the book focus on God's love and His promises to those who love Him and are faithful.
Let's spend a few moments looking at the verse that I have already highlighted - Zephaniah 3:17. Let me remind you again of it:
For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty Saviour. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
This verse is full of love, hope and encouragement for those of us, like Zephaniah, who love and serve the Lord.
Let's meditate on this verse phrase by phrase ...
For the Lord your God is with you - Wow! Let's take a moment to let that sink in ...The ... Lord ... your ... God ... is ... with ... you. How does that make you feel? As I have been busy in the kitchen this afternoon making some granola, I have been meditating on those words. My answer to that question is two-fold:
1. It makes me feel highly honoured that the Lord God, maker of heaven and earth, King of Kings and Lord of Lords chooses to be with me.
2. I feel that it's a great responsibility that my life reflects God's presence with me. However, this leads me to ask myself whether my thoughts, words and actions always reflect this point. What about you? Does this challenge you too?
He is a mighty Saviour - I particularly love one of the lines in the song called What a beautiful name by Ben Fielding and Brooke Ligertwood. The line is : 'My sin was great, Your love was greater'. This line speaks to me of what a mighty Saviour I have in that Jesus paid the debt for my sins by His death at Calvary. His love for me was so great that He was willing to take my place on the cross. Greater love hath no man than this (John 15:13).
He will take delight in you with gladness - Have you ever seen a doting parent or grandparent? It is such a beautiful thing to see. I know of one father who has a young baby daughter and when they're together, the love oozes from his every pore towards her. If this is how an earthly father can love his child, how much more can our Heavenly Father love us? Millions and billions of times more! In fact, His love for me and for you is infinite! I wonder how many of us really understand and accept this truth. We can be so pressurised by what our family, our friends and society think of us. How different would our thinking about ourselves be if we really believed that God delights in each one of us? Why are we so bothered about what society thinks of us when God says that He delights in us? What more could we want? (Nothing!)
With His love, He will calm all your fears - Let me take you back to the beginning of Genesis. Adam and Eve are living in perfect fellowship with God. All was at peace until the Fall in Genesis 3. Suddenly sin enters our world as does fear. In Genesis 3:10 we read that Adam was afraid!
Our society is full of people experiencing fear to a lesser or greater degree. Fear can impact our physical, emotional and mental health. However, there is an antidote to fear and that is God's love.
The example I like to think of is that of a young child jumping from a height into the arms of their parent. Knowing that the parent loves the child enables the child to trust the parent so when the parent says to jump into their arms, the child has no fear and the jump is made surrounded by love, trust and joy. Father God is calling each of us to jump into His arms when fear is at the door. His arms are safe and perfect love casts out fear - see 1 John 4:18.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs - When I think of rejoicing, I think of people celebrating such as when the Welsh team win a rugby match (!!!) - lots of cheering, singing and much joy. This is how God feels about each one of us. We often don't feel it about ourselves but that's a lie. God rejoices over us and is cheering us on. He created us and He tells us in Psalm 139 that we are wonderfully made. God is our number one supporter. Life has its challenges but with God cheering us on, we are assured of victory!
This verse is made up of 5 powerful phrases. I wonder which one God is speaking to you today. Whichever phrase, or phrases, it is, my prayer is that God will bless and encourage you through these words.
Have a great day!
Claire x
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