God with us - Week 3: Zephaniah 3:17
Have you ever had to deliver a difficult message to someone who didn't want to hear it?
Have you ever sat down with a friend and listened as they've challenged you to stop moving in the wrong direction?
If you haven't, then you've obviously not messed up as much as me! I have a small group of loving friends who are willing to tell me when I'm behaving like a numpty.
How about you?
I believe God places people in our lives who are willing to hold us accountable when we neglect our relationship with Him or go against what He wants for us. My accountability experiences have generally involved a quiet chat, a discussion over coffee, or even a carefully worded email. The Old Testament prophets took a slightly more direct approach!
The same prophet who spoke the beautiful words we're focusing on this week also said this just a few verses earlier:
"Woe to the city of oppressors, rebellious and defiled!
She obeys no one, she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God."
Zephaniah 3:1-2
Ouch!
Zephaniah was talking about Jerusalem, whose people had yet again fallen away from God and he wasn't pulling any punches.
They were placing other things above God in their lives. Zephaniah 1:4-5
They were seeking their own wisdom rather than seeking the Lord. Zephaniah 1:6
They stopped believing that God would ever hold them accountable for their actions. Zephaniah 1:12
They were ignoring God's voice. Zephaniah 3:2a
They had stopped trusting in God's faithfulness. Zephaniah 3:2b
The list goes on and on.
The Israelites had broken their relationship with God and Zephaniah was the faithful friend sitting them down for a coffee and a very uncomfortable conversation.
While preparing for this week's blog, I had to have a little word with myself as well. I haven't checked the kid's bedrooms, but there are no altars to Baal in this house as far as I know. There are, however, lots of other areas where I need to keep in check. My lack of patience when God doesn't provide an immediate answer leads me to search for my own solutions. Every time I sit down to write one of these blogs, I have to remind myself that I write for an audience of one, and although the likes and comments are nice, they are not the reason I write.
For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty saviour.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs."
Zephaniah 3:17 NLT
I didn't want to pull this verse out of the book of Zephaniah without any context. It's beautiful and lovely and makes us feel fuzzy inside, but the rest of the book is a reminder of how important it is to develop our relationship with God. Zephaniah shone a light on all the areas where the Israelites had drifted away from God and challenged them to make different choices. He challenged them to place God at the centre of their lives.
With much friendlier language than Zephaniah, I challenge you to do the same this week.
God is with you; He takes delight in you. He is a mighty saviour, of that I am certain.
My only question is, if one of your faithful messengers sat you down for a coffee this week (if only), what would they have to say?
Kay Moorby
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