Trials and troubles tend to make us fearful. Instead of feeling stout and bold, we feel stooped and cold! However, Zephaniah 3:17 reminds us, “For the Lord your God has arrived to live among you. He is a mighty savior. He will rejoice over you with great gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will exult over you by singing a happy song.” This is your first secret to recovery: God is with you! Having Him on your side is like having the United States Army on your side in a skirmish with a Boy Scout troop!
Next, He will rejoice over you with gladness. All His attention and loving affection is directed toward you in the same way a father directs his attention toward his son.
Then, He will calm all your fears. Your fearful, timid whining is for nothing, because perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). You can rest contented and safe in His arms.
Finally, He exults over you by singing a happy song. This picture is like that of a parent holding a child and singing to him in his darkest hour. Can you imagine God singing songs of deliverance over you? What enemy has a chance against such odds?
Be bold and strong, for your Father is on the scene.
Zephaniah 1-3
1 The word of the LORD that came to Zephaniah son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:
Judgment on the Whole Earth in the Day of the LORD
2“I will sweep away everything
from the face of the earth,”
declares the LORD.
3“I will sweep away both man and beast;
I will sweep away the birds in the sky
and the fish in the sea—
and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”
“When I destroy all mankind
on the face of the earth,”
declares the LORD,
4“I will stretch out my hand against Judah
and against all who live in Jerusalem.
I will destroy every remnant of Baal worship in this place,
the very names of the idolatrous priests—
5those who bow down on the roofs
to worship the starry host,
those who bow down and swear by the LORD
and who also swear by Molek,
6those who turn back from following the LORD
and neither seek the LORD nor inquire of him.”
7Be silent before the Sovereign LORD,
for the day of the LORD is near.
The LORD has prepared a sacrifice;
he has consecrated those he has invited.
8“On the day of the LORD’s sacrifice
I will punish the officials
and the king’s sons
and all those clad
in foreign clothes.
9On that day I will punish
all who avoid stepping on the threshold,
who fill the temple of their gods
with violence and deceit.
10“On that day,”
declares the LORD,
“a cry will go up from the Fish Gate,
wailing from the New Quarter,
and a loud crash from the hills.
11Wail, you who live in the market district;
all your merchants will be wiped out,
all who trade with silver will be destroyed.
12At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those who are complacent,
who are like wine left on its dregs,
who think, ‘The LORD will do nothing,
either good or bad.’
13Their wealth will be plundered,
their houses demolished.
Though they build houses,
they will not live in them;
though they plant vineyards,
they will not drink the wine.”
14The great day of the LORD is near—
near and coming quickly.
The cry on the day of the LORD is bitter;
the Mighty Warrior shouts his battle cry.
15That day will be a day of wrath—
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness—
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17“I will bring such distress on all people
that they will grope about like those who are blind,
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like dung.
18Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the LORD’s wrath.”
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole earth will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live on the earth
Judah and Jerusalem Judged Along With the Nations
2 Gather together, gather yourselves together,
you shameful nation,
2before the decree takes effect
and that day passes like windblown chaff,
before the LORD’s fierce anger
comes upon you,
before the day of the LORD’s wrath
comes upon you.
3Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land,
you who do what he commands.
Seek righteousness, seek humility;
perhaps you will be sheltered
on the day of the LORD’s anger.
4Gaza will be abandoned
and Ashkelon left in ruins.
At midday Ashdod will be emptied
and Ekron uprooted.
5Woe to you who live by the sea,
you Kerethite people;
the word of the LORD is against you,
Canaan, land of the Philistines.
He says, “I will destroy you,
and none will be left.”
6The land by the sea will become pastures
having wells for shepherds
and pens for flocks.
7That land will belong
to the remnant of the people of Judah;
there they will find pasture.
In the evening they will lie down
in the houses of Ashkelon.
The LORD their God will care for them;
he will restore their fortunes.
8“I have heard the insults of Moab
and the taunts of the Ammonites,
who insulted my people
and made threats against their land.
9Therefore, as surely as I live,”
declares the LORD Almighty,
the God of Israel,
“surely Moab will become like Sodom,
the Ammonites like Gomorrah—
a place of weeds and salt pits,
a wasteland forever.
The remnant of my people will plunder them;
the survivors of my nation will inherit their land.”
10This is what they will get in return for their pride,
for insulting and mocking
the people of the LORD Almighty.
11The LORD will be awesome to them
when he destroys all the gods of the earth.
Distant nations will bow down to him,
all of them in their own lands.
12“You Cushites, too,
will be slain by my sword.”
13He will stretch out his hand against the north
and destroy Assyria,
leaving Nineveh utterly desolate
and dry as the desert.
14Flocks and herds will lie down there,
creatures of every kind.
The desert owl and the screech owl
will roost on her columns.
Their hooting will echo through the windows,
rubble will fill the doorways,
the beams of cedar will be exposed.
15This is the city of revelry
that lived in safety.
She said to herself,
“I am the one! And there is none besides me.”
What a ruin she has become,
a lair for wild beasts!
All who pass by her scoff
and shake their fists.
3 Woe to the city of oppressors,
rebellious and defiled!
2She obeys no one,
she accepts no correction.
She does not trust in the LORD,
she does not draw near to her God.
3Her officials within her
are roaring lions;
her rulers are evening wolves,
who leave nothing for the morning.
4Her prophets are unprincipled;
they are treacherous people.
Her priests profane the sanctuary
and do violence to the law.
5The LORD within her is righteous;
he does no wrong.
Morning by morning he dispenses his justice,
and every new day he does not fail,
yet the unrighteous know no shame.
6“I have destroyed nations;
their strongholds are demolished.
I have left their streets deserted,
with no one passing through.
Their cities are laid waste;
they are deserted and empty.
7Of Jerusalem I thought,
‘Surely you will fear me
and accept correction!’
Then her place of refuge would not be destroyed,
nor all my punishments come upon her.
But they were still eager
to act corruptly in all they did.
8Therefore wait for me,”
declares the LORD,
“for the day I will stand up to testify.
I have decided to assemble the nations,
to gather the kingdoms
and to pour out my wrath on them—
all my fierce anger.
The whole world will be consumed
by the fire of my jealous anger.
Restoration of Israel’s Remnant
9“Then I will purify the lips of the peoples,
that all of them may call on the name of the LORD
and serve him shoulder to shoulder.
10From beyond the rivers of Cush
my worshipers, my scattered people,
will bring me offerings.
11On that day you, Jerusalem, will not be put to shame
for all the wrongs you have done to me,
because I will remove from you
your arrogant boasters.
Never again will you be haughty
on my holy hill.
12But I will leave within you
the meek and humble.
The remnant of Israel
will trust in the name of the LORD.
13They will do no wrong;
they will tell no lies.
A deceitful tongue
will not be found in their mouths.
They will eat and lie down
and no one will make them afraid.”
14Sing, Daughter Zion;
shout aloud, Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
Daughter Jerusalem!
15The LORD has taken away your punishment,
he has turned back your enemy.
The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you;
never again will you fear any harm.
16On that day
they will say to Jerusalem,
“Do not fear, Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
17The LORD your God is with you,
the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
18“I will remove from you
all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals,
which is a burden and reproach for you.
19At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you.
I will rescue the lame;
I will gather the exiles.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they have suffered shame.
20At 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.
Revelation 10
The Angel and the Little Scroll
10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars.2He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land,3and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.4And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
5Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven.6And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay!7But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets.”
8Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me once more: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.”
9So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take it and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but ‘in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.’”10I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it. It tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour.11Then I was told, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, languages and kings.”
Psalm 138
Psalm 138
138 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart;
before the “gods” I will sing your praise.
2I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your unfailing love and your faithfulness,
for you have so exalted your solemn decree
that it surpasses your fame.
3When I called, you answered me;
you greatly emboldened me.
4May all the kings of the earth praise you, LORD,
when they hear what you have decreed.
5May they sing of the ways of the LORD,
for the glory of the LORD is great.
6Though the LORD is exalted, he looks kindly on the lowly;
though lofty, he sees them from afar.
7Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life.
You stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes;
with your right hand you save me.
8The LORD will vindicate me;
your love, LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
Proverbs 30:11-14
11“There are those who curse their fathers
and do not bless their mothers;
12those who are pure in their own eyes
and yet are not cleansed of their filth;
13those whose eyes are ever so haughty,
whose glances are so disdainful;
14those whose teeth are swords
and whose jaws are set with knives
to devour the poor from the earth
and the needy from among mankind.
