Readings for today: Zephaniah 1-3
One of things I love most about reading the Prophets of the Old Testament is how God breaks through. Amidst all the fire and judgment and doom and gloom, visions of glory always seem to appear. Like shoots of grass coming up through the sidewalk. Like an oasis in the desert. Like the sun’s rays piercing the cloud cover. It’s a reminder that while God’s anger may last for a moment, His favor lasts for a lifetime. Though weeping may tarry for the night, joy comes in the morning.
Perhaps this why I love Zephaniah 3:14-17 NET so much. “Shout for joy, Daughter Zion! Shout out, Israel! Be happy and boast with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! The Lord has removed the judgment against you; he has turned back your enemy. Israel’s king, the Lord, is in your midst! You no longer need to fear disaster. On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Don’t be afraid, Zion! Your hands must not be paralyzed from panic! The Lord your God is in your midst; he is a warrior who can deliver. He takes great delight in you; he renews you by his love; he shouts for joy over you.” The prophet spends the first two chapters and almost all of the third chapter laying out the most terrifying visions. Everything will be destroyed. All the plants. All the animals. Nothing will be left. Jerusalem. Gaza. Ashkelon. Ashdod. Ekron. All will be left in ruins. Nations as far away as Assyria and Ethiopia will not be able to escape. God will do this in order to purify the earth. Sanctify the nations. Right the wrongs. Overthrow tyrants. Bring an end to injustice and oppression. And He will leave in His wake a humbled people. A meek people. A people who seek their safety in the Lord alone. He will dwell with them. He will fight for them. He delights in them. And He will renew them with His love and shout for joy over them. What a beautiful picture of what happens when God breaks through!
Think back over the course of your own life. Where has God broken through for you? Where has He shown up in the most unexpected places? Where has He met you in the middle of your mess? In the hardest places in your life? I know I can think of many times where I was brought to the end of myself and beyond only to find God waiting there for me. Just the other day, someone asked me where my confidence comes from. They wanted to know how I can preach with confidence and lead with confidence and live with confidence. I told them about the hardest moments of my life, when it felt like my entire identity was stripped away, and how God showed up for me in those moments. Making a way where there seemed to be no way. Lifting me up out of the pit and setting my feet on a rock. Those moments taught me that only God is strong enough to hold me together when everything in my life is falling apart. Not only that, He actually delights in holding me together. He is actively fighting my battles for me. And He sings for joy over me.
Readings for tomorrow: 2 Kings 22-23, 2 Chronicles 34-35