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.

Zephaniah 3:17

With the news as it is recently you may be feeling a little bit unsettled, my prayer is that you may gain some comfort in God’s words through Zephaniah.

Who was Zephaniah.? He was a minor prophet in the who “probably prophesied around 630 BC.”[1]

He was prophesying to Judah as they were being raided by the Scythians. But it is important to note that “as Zephaniah prophesied in God’s name, he denounced the religious sins of Judah and the corruption rampant among both civil and religious authorities.”[2] So they were being attacked but were not innocent.

However, God does not leave them in their distress. Through Zephaniah he shows them that,” Punishment and fear will become things of the past, as God rescues his people from shame, handicap and exile. Israel will know herself truly secure and loved by God, and honoured by all the nations of the world.”[3]

When the world feels like an unsafe place, and worry begins to eat at you because you feel that you deserve it, remember that…

            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.

Zephaniah 3:17

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[1] Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Zephaniah, Book Of,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 2191.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Andrew Knowles, The Bible Guide, 1st Augsburg books ed. (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg, 2001), 385.