Present On That Day, Part 1

Scripture – Zephaniah 3:16-17 (NRSV)

On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands grow weak.
The Lord, your God, is in your midst,
a warrior who gives victory;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will renew you in his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.”

Devotion

I was quite young and my family attended a costume party. My mother and sister looked very similar, so they dressed up the same. They would not say a word—which obscured the one thing that made them distinct. I did not know this was their plan. When we got to the event they walked up to me and I remember the angst building. I could not make sense of what I was seeing. Who cares about my sister—which one is my mother?

By the time of Zephaniah’s prophecy, things had become so discombobulated for Israel that Jerusalem was unrecognizable. There was a line of evil leaders, there was national idolatry, and there was exploitation of all types of people. God was unrecognizable and his actions toward the nations conveyed a clear picture of his power. God’s actions were emphatic and strong; the response was harsh, but it is true that he only does what is right (Zephaniah 3:5) He causes widespread desolation (3:6) and all the nations fear him. (3:7)

On that day when God came there was destruction and nobody was without excuse. Yet, even then, he told Jerusalem “Do not fear” and again “Do not let your hands grow weak.” Why not fear when the walls are definitely coming down?

We have this propensity in leadership to lose the grip of certainty and trust when the situation becomes unrecognizable—where the path is less clear and we come to grips with the fact that our analogies have become dogmatic absolutes. Proverbial paths could be worn and cleared out in order to have space to walk, but sometimes that is not always the case. The narrow path through green pastures is the same narrow path through toppled walls and overturned stones in the shadow of death: where he leads you is the path.

We find ourselves gazing into the familiar uncertainty, trying to make sense of what we see—trying to hold onto something that transcends the circumstances we created or that were pressed upon us. Zephaniah prophesied during a time where destruction had come. But God’s word repeatedly reminds us by prescription and experience that regardless of the circumstances there is an objective hope. On that day, even in the midst of destruction, the redeemed should neither forget nor discourage the downtrodden around us because “the Lord is in your midst.”

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Commentary on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Can We Eat Together?

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