11-21-2024

Good Morning All,

   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.”

    There is nothing quite as comforting as having your loved ones around when you face new and important events in your life.  It might be joyous events like the birth of a child, graduating from high school or college, marriage or perhaps a job promotion.  We like to celebrate our successes with those whom we love.  We like that same comfort and support when we experience those events that aren’t so joyous, like when we lose a job or a big game, the end of a relationship or the end of a life; we need comfort and support.  We need to have our loved ones in our midst.

    They don’t have to do much just be there to share in the event, good or bad, happy, or sad; we need people there.  We like them to cheer when things go well and to offer us a shoulder when things go bad.  We need the love and support of our loved ones.

    This is one aspect of our life which God has always wanted to be for us.  He has always been in our midst.  He is always there to save us.  This is one of sin’s most insidious effects; sin makes us feel that God is far away.  Sin makes us feel like we are all alone.  Sin wants all our joyous times to feel hollow because we have no one to share them with.  It makes our sorrow even deeper because we feel all alone.  Loneliness is one of the devil’s best weapons.  He uses it, or the fear of it, to cause us all sorts of pain.  He uses it to separate us from God.  The apostle Peter calls the devil a “roaring lion.”  This is a very accurate description.  While the lion seems very powerful, when it hunts it looks for the weak and the wounded, separates it from the rest of the herd and then it attacks.  I see those attacks when I see relationships go bad, jobs lost, health deteriorating; whenever pain is experienced you can almost sense the devil prowling trying to separate those who have been injured or weakened by life’s battles.

    God is always there, he is always here in our midst, rejoicing in our gladness and quieting us with his love, just like a parent who holds and comforts a crying child.  He is there to comfort us when we need it.  He is there in our midst.

    When you see someone who is in this pain and you think, the church should do something; that is the Spirit telling you to do something.  God is in our midst, and he chooses to use your hands, your shoulders, your voice to hold, console and speak comfort.  When we see someone with something to celebrate, God chooses to use us to celebrate with them as well.  God empowered us with his Spirit to continue Jesus’ ministry here on earth.  He remains in our midst by his Spirit until his visible return.

Dear Father in heaven, we give you thanks that you are in our midst with your joy and with your quieting love.  Give us that comfort and joy when we need it and use us to give that same comfort and joy when our brothers and sisters need it.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret