"Seek the Lord, all you humble of the land, who do his commands; seek righteousness, seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the Lord's wrath." Zephaniah 2:3 NRSV
I have found as I get older I put things down, like my car keys and wallet, later when I need them I can't find them. The solution is to put these things in the same place consistently, but I get distracted and put them down in different areas. Janice and Jordan, then, come to my aid in searching for the misplaced items. We sometimes find them in the strangest places, near the litter box, on top of the dryer, and the wallet has had several trips through the washer.
In the scripture today, Zephaniah was prophesying to Judah about the threat of an oncoming invasion. More severe than misplacing car keys, they had forgotten God. Somehow, they had become distracted by anything and everything losing their way. Zephaniah calls on them to return to their roots, gathering together as a nation, and humbly repent and seek to live Godly lives. He did not ensure them they would be spared from the invasion, only "perhaps." We sometimes experience things in our lives that it's hard to see how it could be God's will. We can't comprehend the vastness of God's design for our lives and that of all his creation. But we do know that life is far better when we seek to live righteously.
On the eve of Independence Day, the scripture today seems fitting. As a nation, we need to heed the call that Zephaniah made in Judah long ago to humble ourselves and repent. Think about how many of the ills we experience today would disappear if we earnestly observed the example of Christ, treating each other with justice and love.
God, we give you thanks for deliverance. While that deliverance does not always come in the form we expect, we have confidence that you are with us. We humbly repent of our arrogance and that we have allowed distractions to separate us from you. We earnestly seek you will and ask for your guidance and leading righteous lives. In Jesus' name, we pray.
Blessings!
Pastor Tim
