Zephaniah 3:17-20

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.

Comment:

What a very powerful response you got to your prayer request! Zephaniah is largely a prophet of doom, living as he did in a time when the nation of Israel seemed far removed from its spiritual roots and purpose. For Israel, and for the rest of the world as well, his message is simply that choices have consequences; and choices made out of alignment with the divine will have painful and negative consequences. It's not that God will punish us, really. It's that we are punishing ourselves through the choices we make.

And then comes the loving and affirmative third chapter. No matter how lost we may feel, no matter how dark and negative our lives have become, God is always available to us, present within us, eager to express as love and empowerment as soon as we are willing to make new choices—choices that reflect our awareness of our divine purpose and identity.

Blessings!

Rev. Ed