You Shall Fear Disaster

No More

Sing aloud, O daughter Zion; shout, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter Jerusalem! The LORD has taken away the judgments against you, he has turned away your enemies. The king of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; you shall fear disaster no more. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: Do not fear, O Zion; do not let your hands grow weak. The LORD, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing as on a day of festival. I will remove disaster from you, so that you will not bear reproach for it. I will deal with all your oppressors at that time. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you home, at the time when I gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes, says the LORD.

Zephaniah 3:14-20

Zephaniah begins with sadness and ends with joy. In the first chapter there is sadness and gloom, but by the end there is much singing. In fact, at the end, there is one of the sweetest songs of love in the entire Old Testament.

God’s love for us is always astonishing, especially when it touches us at a low ebb of life. During the darkest times, the LORD comes to us with His joy, His love, and His song.

In God’s garden of love, you are His forget-me-not.

Our Daily Bread – August 29, 2009