He will calm all your fears

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DAILY DEVOTIONAL – Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Today’s scripture reading:

The Lord himself will remove his hand of judgment, disperse Israel’s enemies, and come to live among his people. He will give them gladness. Zephaniah points out that gladness results when we allow God to be with us. We do that by faithfully following him and obeying his commands. Then God rejoices over us with singing. If you want to be happy, draw close to the source of happiness by obeying God. (NLT)

Zephaniah 3:14-17 – Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! For the Lord will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the Lord himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will fear disaster no more.

On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid! 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.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. – Psalm 149:4 (NIV)

Jane Reid (Oregon) titled her story “FATHER’S DELIGHT;” here is a portion of Jane’s story:

“As a new grandma, I love watching my son with his daughter. His eyes sparkle and he grins from ear to ear, rejoicing in her existence. Even if she spits up on his shirt or her diaper leaks on his pants, he hugs her, laughs, and says, ‘You overflowed!’

“My own dad did not always delight in me. Sometimes I snuggled on his lap. But other times I was afraid of him. Human fathers aren’t perfect. They may love and enjoy their children; or they may neglect, abuse, and abandon them. Calling God ‘Father’ can be difficult for me. Since I had to work so hard to please my dad, I feel that I need to work hard to please God.

“My son has become my example. Watching him with his baby shows me the Bible’s picture of our heavenly Father. Zephaniah 3:17 (CEB) says, ‘The Lord your God is in your midst. . . . He will create calm with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing.’ . . . We can turn to our heavenly Father without fear. We don’t need to work to please God. We can talk about anything and everything. God loves us and takes delight in us. Thinking about God’s love makes me smile all day.”

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY – How will I respond to God’s delight in me?

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, thank you for rejoicing ove us with singing. We want our lives to reflect your joy. Amen.

Prayer Focus: ABUSED CHILDREN

To read the rest of the story in The Upper Room, click on the following link: http://devotional.upperroom.org/

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