The Lord your God is with you..." - Zeph. 3:17

This may be one of my very favorite promises in the whole Bible!  It is a word of hope and encouragement for those who fear and doubt.  The prophet Zephaniah had no easy task to warn those in Judah of impending destruction and yet offer them ultimate victory and hope.  His name, oddly enough, means "the Lord hides" or "the Lord protects".He wanted those who believed - especially the humble ones - to know they would be protected and rejoiced over by the Lord.  There was still time for all to "call on the name of the Lord" (v. 3:9).

The story of Joseph in Gen. 37-45 is a wonderful picture of how the Lord protects.  Many times in those chapters we see "the Lord was with him" in the various predicaments he finds himself in.  I'm wondering if his confidence that the Lord would help him caused him to be used in such a mighty way in the kingdom of God.  Would we be more humble, more obedient, more faithful if we truly believed that God was with us.  But then that's the mystery of faith, isn't it?  God wanted us to believe that so much He gave us his Son, Jesus - Immanuel which literally means "God with us"!

Max Lucado in YOU'LL GET THROUGH THIS says:

God surrounds us in the same way the Pacific surrounds an ocean

floor pebble.  He is everywhere - above, below, on all sides.  We

choose our response - rock or sponge?  Resist or receive?

Everything within you says harden the heart.  Run from God;

resist God; blame God.  But be careful.  Hard hearts never heal.

Spongy ones do.  Open every pore of your soul to God's presence.

 

John Wooden says:  "Things turn out the best for people who make the best of the way things turn out."  How about you?  Are you resisting what God promises you?  He is with you, He saves you, He delights in you, He quiets you.   Let us live as if we really believe that!  There is still time!

 

For further study:  Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 34:7, Psalm 46:7, Psalm 125:2, Isaiah 7:14,  Isaiah 58:11, Joel 2:32, Matthew 1:23, Matthew 28:28

 

Be blessesd in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly