September 21, 2023
Daily Devotion:
"God's Faithful Presence"
Zephaniah 3:16-17
New International Version
16 On that day, they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17 The 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.”
In verse 16 of chapter 3, however, Zephaniah uses the same phrase—“on that day”—to promise a time of renewal. God encourages them to rejoice, even while they wait and endure a time of suffering. As the other prophets do, Zephaniah connects the call to joy with God’s faithful presence among His people. Whatever they face, He will be with them. They have enemies and feel abandoned, but God is “a victorious warrior” who “will rejoice over [them] with shouts of joy” (v. 17).
And what about us? We also wait for a world restored, where our fellowship with God will never end. The writer of Hebrews sees Jesus as our example for joyful work while we “run with endurance” toward that goal (Hebrews 12:1). Consider Jesus, he writes, who endured the cross “for the joy set before him”—that of sitting in fellowship with the Father (Hebrews 12:2). Because we look forward to that same blessing, we can set fear aside and rejoice!
