Just a couple more Old Testament weeks and then we will soar into the New Testament! I am so enjoying our Wednesdays together and seeing what God is speaking to you all. Please drop into the comments below and tell us what touched you in Zephaniah, then be ready for Haggai next week!
Zephaniah 3:17–The Lord your God is is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.
Bear withe me this week, because there is a story behind this intensely personal verse. But before we get there, isn’t this one awesome? This is my favorite image of God in the whole Bible. (Okay, one of them. Jesus as the triumphant rider on the white horse is probably my ultimate number one fave, but I digress.)
Just a couple of months after God delivered me from the fear that had crippled me for nine years, He threw a little curve ball our way in the form of another move. We were currently stationed in my hometown, had only been there 18 months, and WHAM! Hello whole new place! I was just learning God and His love for me, just growing into this new person, and was just settling in to this new life He’d given me. This is why I’m pretty sure God is not about letting us get too comfortable. 🙂 Oddly enough, me-who-hated-to-move was super excited about this one. God told me early on that this was one of His “good gifts” He likes to give to His children, even though it didn’t seem like it at the moment. Interesting.
At any rate, just a few days before we headed to our new state, a friend of mine was praying for me, and she spoke this verse as she prayed. It slapped me right upside the heart in a way I hadn’t really thought about it before. God loves me. He loves me enough to rejoice over me, even though I fall and fail and come unglued and mess it all up on a daily basis. And for a person who fought an intense battle with fear, the very idea that He is mighty to save and quiets me with His love is overwhelming.
When it comes to God’s love, this may be one of the greatest displays of it–next to Jesus’s sacrifice–in the Bible. I love how, in the midst of prophets convicting Israel, God drops this verse and says, “See? I still love you, and I love you enough to sing over you.” Awesome. Just plain awesome!
-JB
Dawn Lucowitz says
I absolutely love the verse Jodie wrote about, but I’m going to pick a different one for this week’s challenge. Zephaniah 3:20 – “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes.” Says the Lord.
I really love the First line “At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home.”
I just finished the bible study, Crazy Love by Francis Chan and absolutely LOVED it! I was challenged and pushed every week to learn more about myself and God. So many of the weeks I felt like I was so off the mark in my walk with Christ, but not in a discouraging way, it was more convicting than anything else. My eyes were opened so much. One of the things I realized I struggle with is being “heaven focused.” One of the weeks talked about being obsessed with Jesus and part of that obsession that I want to have is being more heaven focused. I know I’m not done here on earth, but I need to remember that this isn’t home. I’m just visiting until I am gathered up and brought home! I need to not worry about and get so frustrated and consumed with the “little” things here. I need to stop fighting for answers that will never make sense while we are here. I need to strive to be more and more like Christ every day and in everything I do so that I can bring Him glory and hopefully help bring as many people HOME with me as possible.
I felt this verse was so fitting after writing about Building 429’s new song last week
Jodie says
You’re right on track with me this week. I’ve been praying for this, to take my eyes off the world and put them on Jesus. Makes me think of the Steven Curtis Chapman song “Magnificent Obsession.” I want him to be everything I want and need… my “consuming passion!”
Jen says
I chose 3:17 too simply because it’s one of my all-time favorite verses. I love, love, love what you said about it coming in the midst of so much prophecy, though. As Dawn said a couple of weeks ago, parts of the Old Testament are “wicked depressing”… but this verse is so full of light and love that it stands in stark contrast to much of what we’ve been reading lately. Kinda makes me wonder if He didn’t plan it that way just so it would get our attention and really sink in…
Jodie says
Girl, you know he planned it that way. That’s the awesome thing about the Bible (and something I read in Jessica’s Patch’s blog today… The Bible is deliberate. And I love that!
Jessica R. Patch says
Yep, just plain ole’ awesome. Love the picture you gave. I happen to love the rider on the white horse verse too. Gives me shivers every time I read it. There are so many times He has quieted me with His love. There is no other! 🙂 Great post, Jodie, as usual!
Jodie says
Thanks, Jessica! I love the image of my conquering Jesus!