Zephaniah
July 18
Zephaniah 3:14-20
God’s song of joy
The Lord allowed Zephaniah to see His plan for Jerusalem and Judah. Although the people would be taken to a distant country as slaves, eventually when the time came for them to return, they would be humble and obey the Lord once again. Their hearts would rejoice because God’s punishment had ended and they were free again.
“The Lord will be joyful too!” Zephaniah told them. “He will be delighted in His people and sing about them with great joy. He will gather those who long for the feasts and celebrations of the Lord, and take away their shame.”
“The time is coming!” says the Lord, “I will bring the scattered people home and honor them in every land where they were put to shame.”
Does the Lord get excited about me too?
Sometimes I feel like such a bore. I don’t do anything exciting and I don’t have exciting things to talk about. I’m not even excited about myself, how could anyone else get excited about me? If that is how you feel about yourself, there is great news for you!
It doesn’t matter how you feel about yourself on a Monday morning, or when you look into the mirror. It doesn’t matter if you are not a top performer in class or a star on the sports field. God gets so excited about you that He actually sings about you!
You may think that God has so many people to look after that He doesn’t have much time for you. Well, think about this: does it really matter to you how many hairs are on your head? God thinks it does! And if the hairs on your head are important to Him, think how much more important it is for Him to be there when you are playing a match, performing on a stage, or writing a test. He loves to watch everything you do, and He looks forward to the times you talk to Him.
If God has enough time to count every hair on your head (Luke 12:7) it shows how interested He is in the smallest detail of your life (Psalm 139:1-3).
Verse for today
For the LORD takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation. Psalm 149:4
