Joy from God

Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 3: 14 - 20 (NIV)
Sing, Daughter Zion; shout aloud, Israel! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, Daughter Jerusalem! 15The Lord has taken away your punishment, he has turned back your enemy. The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm. 16On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. 17The 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.”
18“I will remove from you all who mourn over the loss of your appointed festivals, which is a burden and reproach for you. 19At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you. I will rescue the lame; I will gather the exiles. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they have suffered shame. 20At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among all the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes,” says the Lord.
Message: Joy from God
A hanging threat
The prophet Zephaniah brings God’s word to the people of Judah in a time where they are under the constant threat of being exiled
Their neighbours, the ten tribes of Israel were already taken away in exile
The writing was on the wall for them… they were living on thin ice
Their worst fear came true - they too eventually got exiled
The book of Zephaniah is filled with prophesies of God’s judgement amid the threat of exile hanging over them
We can safely say that their headspace was occupied with fear for exile and their theology led them to believe that God was angry at them, and that they are about to be punished under the judgement of God
This is an example of how a story of circumstance can occupy the minds of people
There’s a term used for this - meta narrative
In this case the meta narrative was - God is angry at us, we are about to be punished
We could ask lots of questions about the meta narrative we find ourselves in…
Has it something to do with our materialistic outlook on life? (Shopping…)
The way we define success? Or wealth?
They way we spend our time? Our habits and the things we do every day?
The thing with a meta narrative is that it is hard to see it when you’re in it…
It just becomes the mindset in which you learn to live in
God changes mindsets
And it is amid this tone, we find the words of chapter 3 that tells about a God that rejoices over his children and a God of change
Just to think - God is not angry… He takes great delight in us?
In his love, He will not longer rebuke us?
Instead of condemning us, He will have delight in us?
These words can be described as one of the best examples in the Bible of how God is changing the psyche and thinking of his people
God is not taking away the threat, but He gives them a new mindset to be able to face the situation they find themselves in
God is not changing the circumstances - He is changing the mindset
They don’t have to be stuck in their minds anymore…
God lifts them out of their mode of thinking…
Joy from God
This resembles what God has done in the Christmas story
The angel proclaiming: “joy to the world”
Joy to the world that needs joy - real deep inner joy!
The angel says - “Here’s real joy to be found”… not the type of temporary joy that we keep chasing all the time… real joy!
Zephaniah shows us a God that rejoices over us
Just let that sink in for a moment - God rejoices over you…
Despite your guilt
Despite your shame
Despite your doubt
Despite your grief
Despite your mental state
Even despite your anger…
Our joy in Christmas originates from God’s joy for us
It is with joy in his heart that God sent his Son to this world (the joy Zephaniah speaks about)
By sending his Son, God is giving us joy - deep inner joy
The joy the angel spoke about is ours to receive
The joy that comes from a God that takes delight in us…
May we receive this great joy when we celebrate the birth of Jesus!
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