Zephaniah 3:17: “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a might savior. 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.”
If you are in a room with someone as you are reading this, please take one second and ask them to read this verse over you as you close your eyes. Then, read it over them. Maybe sip on your cup of coffee a while longer and meditate on this scripture.
Earlier this week I stumbled across this verse in my quiet time with the Lord, and it romanced my heart! As I look out the window to my left, the African sun sets in the great Namibian sky. The bright orange sun lights up the clouds to be yellow, gold, pink, deep purple and orange. I think to myself, all of these colors can’t be re-created by man. As the sun gradually moves lower and lower, I am romanced by the Living God, who painted such a beautiful sunset for my team and I to enjoy as we travel into month seven. Can it be that the Creator of that breath-taking sunset watched over me in delight as I took delight in the picture in which He created? I am reminded of this verse as I watched the sun disappear behind the ends of the earth.
In this passing breath, all fears of not being able to talk to my family, friends and boyfriend for a month, and my fear of the unknown circumstances to come escaped me. But how often do I let fear rule a moment? I think back to gymnastics and off-season where I was constantly learning new, increasingly dangerous, and more difficult skills for the next level or next season. I had a choice to let fear rule my progress or let bravery propel me forward. I am reminded of a sweet moment with the Father I had during a private lesson on a quiet Saturday afternoon years ago. I was struggling with a straddle back on the bars. It was a skill I once had but for some reason one day fear got a hold of me, and I let it paralyze me from something I had already known how to do. I was standing in the middle of a quiet gym, fear holding onto me, my mom in the parent room reading a book, and my coach running out of things to say and things to try and help me over come this fear. As I re-chalked my hands, he ran up to his office and returned with his Bible flipped to Psalm 91. He asked me to read it. As I read the Word, all fear escaped me and I remember the sweetness of that moment even today. I am reminded of it because it was a moment in which I knew the Lord was among me, my Mighty Savior, taking delight in me, calming my fears with love and singing a joyful song over me. I don’t really remember how the rest of the moment went, but I do know it has forever reminded me of the Lords consistent love and way of casting out all fears.
The day I read Zephaniah 3:17 the last sentence “He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” really spoke to me. The Creator of all creation, the Mighty Savior, the Victorious One, rejoices over ME with a joyful song! This girl who idolized the sport of gymnastics, who looked to Him to help her concur the next, skill, routine or competition instead of calling upon Him for ways I can further the Kingdom, I was asking to further my idolatry. Yet the Lord in all His wisdom broke me free from that, restored me, healed me, and called me into something much greater. My fears these days look a lot different, there are larger fears that are set before me, but they have never held me captive. At the beginning of my Race I feared the unknown, I feared leading a team of woman I hardly knew, I feared a lot of things but I was remained each day to only operate in fear of the Lord. Each day I am reminded of the Lords faithfulness when the sun peaks up over the Earth, and when it falls back behind the Earth, as it is now.
My fears are all silenced with His joyful song that is sung over me. My strength is restored when I stand on the truth that Jesus takes delight in me. All my fears escape me with His love. I rest by clinging to the Mighty Savior who lives among and within me. Are you paralyzed by fear, or freed by operating in fear of the One who is spoken of in Zephaniah 3:17?
The Namibian sunset that was described above.
One of the multiple Namibian sunrises I had the privilege to see.
P.S. Sorry I am just getting around to posting this one!
