ZEPHANIAH 3:17 – The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”
THEME OF THE DAY: LOOK UP, DOWNCAST BELIEVER. The Apostle Paul would remind the believers in Corinth of a very important truth for all believers. It is the necessity of knowing the tactics or schemes of the devil. He wrote, “If you forgive anyone, I do too. For what I have forgiven—if I have forgiven anything—it is for you in the presence of Christ. I have done this so that we may not be taken advantage of by Satan. For we are not ignorant of his schemes” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). Space or time does not allow for a thorough listing of the many ways the devil seeks to derail, distract, and discourage Christians so we will identify two. These are choice weapons in his arsenal and may very well be the top two – doubt and discouragement.
In the Garden of Eden, the serpent comes to Eve. What did he do that opened the door to her disobedience to God and bring sinful ruination upon the human race? He planted the seed of doubt of God’s Word in her mind – Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die’” (Genesis 3:1-3). And what followed doubt? Satan distorts and denies God’s Word, and Eve “ate the bait” leading to sin. Doubt of God’s Word continues to be a chief tactic of our enemy because if he gets us to doubt God’s Word, gone is our assurance, confidence, and joy in the Lord. We become poor witnesses for the Gospel.
Another tactic, and very effective, used by the devil is to bring a dark cloud of discouragement over the hearts of believers. The Sons of Korah identify this sad condition in the forty-second Psalm and he would repeat his discouragement twice – Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation. Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God (Psalm 42:5, 11). But God, in His grace and mercy, provides us the way to “turn back the blanket of discouragement” and that in today’s scripture.
Read the words of the prophet Zephaniah over and over, maybe even aloud, and let its truth settle our hearts, rest our minds, and drive discouragement away to be replaced by encouragement. And above all believe them. Yes, the Lord is near. Yes, the Lord is saving us. Yes, the Lord rejoices over us with gladness. Yes, the Lord will quiet us with His love, and yes, He really does sing over us because He delights in us. Those truths will cause the heart to soar!
PRAYER: “Father, thank You for a love that will never let me go and never wavers even when I do.”
QUOTE: “When the devil whispers doubts concerning God’s love for you. Look to Christ’s cross and He will flee.”
In the affection of Christ Jesus,
Pastor Jim