The Lord is in Our Midst
By Dean Collins
For the month of December, I will be sharing both new and previous Advent devotionals that will help us prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. May God purify our hearts as we wait for the coming of our Lord.
Zephaniah lived through some evil kings and likely prophesied during the reign of Josiah. Jerusalem had not yet been captured by the Babylonians. The judgment of God was sure, yet the prophet brought encouragement that God still loved His people and could be their refuge and peace, both in the short run and in the long days ahead. Ultimately, Zephaniah spoke of a future day—both our day and the ultimate day—when Jesus would return to complete His final renewal and restoration of all things.
As we live in this moment and anticipate our future in eternity, we are to sing aloud, shout, rejoice, and exult with all our hearts. Of course, I suspect that, like me, sometimes in your current struggle or difficulty, you may not think that singing and rejoicing are the appropriate actions. We might think to pray in our moment of desperation and even shout our frustrations about the predicament we are in, but Zephaniah instructs us that in these very moments, even when there is more difficulty ahead, we are to worship God with all of our hearts. God will break through every time we choose to worship Him.
If you cannot think of a reason to praise God, remember the amazing truth that Zephaniah wrote: “The Lord has taken away the judgments against you; He has cleared away your enemies.” Yes, there may still be enemies visible, and yes, we may still be dealing with lingering consequences of sin, but we must never forget that Jesus has already paid the price for our sins on the cross, and by His blood, we are forgiven!
One of my favorite verses in all of Scripture is in this passage. I quote this verse to myself every day, and I encourage you to do the same:
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”
We do not have to fear because God is with us. He dwells in us through His Holy Spirit and surrounds us at all times. As David said in Psalm 23, we can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil because God goes with us. His goodness and mercy will follow us every step of our journey. God is victorious and is celebrating even now as He rejoices over us, quiets us by His love, and exults over us with loud singing.
So, whatever you are going through today, remember the promises of God delivered through the prophet Zephaniah and know that the Lord is in your midst and will see you through all the way to eternity.
Father, thank You for Your strong promise that You have not and never will abandon us! Thank You for choosing to live in us through Your Holy Spirit. Today, we are quieted by Your love and will declare Your faithfulness to someone near us so that they, too, will be reminded of what You have done for them. We rejoice in the victory that is ours in Christ Jesus. In His name we pray, amen.
Your Time with God’s Word
Zephaniah 3:14-17 ESV
Photo by Caleb Oquendo
To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
