December 15 - It is time
Contributed by
Sarah Nelson, a senior English major from Harleysville, Pa. on Monday December 15
Scripture
Zephaniah 3:14-20
Sing, O Daughter of Zion;
shout aloud, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O Daughter of Jerusalem!
The 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.
On that day they will say to Jerusalem,
"Do not fear, O Zion;
do not let your hands hang limp.
The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing."
"The sorrows for the appointed feasts
I will remove from you;
they are a burden and a reproach to you.
At that time I will deal
with all who oppressed you;
I will rescue the lame
and gather those who have been scattered.
I will give them praise and honor
in every land where they were put to shame.
At 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.
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Devotion
The Lord is coming! It is time to rejoice in the surety of his blessing and his comfort in times of trouble. It is time to exult in the surety of our deliverance, to sing and shout because he is in our midst, a warrior who has won our salvation. The prophet proclaims, after a long discourse on the devastation of the coming judgment, the deliverance that will come to the chosen, to the faithful, those who renounce the corrupt and choose the truth.
The Lord is coming, to change shame into praise. It is easy, in this season of business, to forget the joy and be bogged down in all the things that need to be done, but he is the refuge and comfort of the overworked and the exhausted as much as of the lame and the outcast. In the midst of insane rushing around with cooking, and tree decorating, and running through immense crowds to buy last minute presents, we still need to find time for the wild outpouring of joy in the surety of his love for us. We need to look beyond our seasonal preoccupation and appreciate the exhilaration of the birth. It's time to rejoice in another semester over, another set of classes ended, a new beginning to come.
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