Testimony #2 - A Teen

I was a teenager who suffered with very low self esteem in my early teens. I contemplated suicide on a regular basis and attempted it once.

Then God gave me many opportunities to build confidence and friends who appreciated and understood me and helped me to build my faith.

Now I have a very high self esteem and share Zephaniah 3:17 with others who struggle with low self esteem. God takes great delight in you and rejoices over you with singing!

Zephaniah 3:17
The 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.”

Zephaniah 3:20

At that time I will gather you;
   at that time I will bring you home.
I will give you honor and praise
   amongst all the peoples of the earth
when I restore your fortunes
   before your very eyes,"
                                            says the Lord.

This is a Sunday morning. I don't normally do my Bible study and blog on a Sunday morning, but for some reason I had lots of extra time this morning, so I guess that God had something to tell me. There were only three verses left in the book I was studying, Zephaniah. And this is the last verse have that book.

This morning I was thinking about money. Financially, we are doing so much better than we have in the past, but there are so many people who have so much more than us. Sometimes I wonder why God has not blessed us with more. Then I read a verse like this and realize that true honor, praise and fortunes do not lie on the earth, they live with God in heaven. As long as I am assured of this inheritance, it doesn't matter how much or little I have on this earth.

Lord, thank you for your asurance of heaven. Lord, please give me the strength, energy and desire to work for the money we need. Help me to be content with what we have. Amen.

Zephaniah 3:17

The 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.

I could not go through a study on Zephaniah without including this verse. This is my favorite verse in the Bible. I am so amazed God takes great delight in me and rejoices over me in singing.

Lord, thank you so much for loving me, for being with me, for saving me, for delighting in me, and for rejoicing over me. I am so blessed! Amen.

Zephaniah 3:9

Then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord and serve Him shoulder to shoulder.

This verse in Zephaniah goes along with the lesson I am teaching on the majesty of God. In order to call him Lord, we must be purified. We must be holy because he is holy. When we have become a child of God we are part of his royal court, serving shoulder to shoulder. Not only do we have the right to call on Him, we are royalty as well.

Lord, thank you for bringing me into your royal court and for allowing me to call on your name. Amen.

Zephaniah 3:2

She obeys no one, she accepts no correction. She does not trust in the Lord, she does not draw near to her God.

God constantly amazes me at how "of the moment" the Scriptures are that I read. I am really struggling right now with work I have a boss who I am having trouble getting along with. Yesterday I felt attacked by this person and I attacked back. I got in trouble and I could have lost my job. I was in the wrong, but it's hard to accept the correction. I am being told that I just want to do my own thing and not follow her leadership. I think this verse is just speaking straight to me today.

Lord, please help me to be obedient to you and to my earthly masters. Help me to accept correction. Lord , I do trust in you and I do draw near to you. Help me to do this in times of struggle. Amen.

Zephaniah 2:14

Flocks and herds will lie down there, creatures of every kind. The desert owl and the screech owl will roost on her columns. Their hooting will echo through the windows, rubble will fill the doorways, the beams of cedar will be exposed.

Here Zephaniah is talking about the destruction of the nations. I thought this was such beautiful language. The poetry of the Bible is amazing. "Their hooting will echo through the windows..."

Lord, thank you for the beautiful language of the Bible. Thank you for music, art and all things creative. Amen.

Zephaniah 1:12

At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who are complacent, who are like wine left on its dregs, who think, 'The Lord will do nothing, either good or bad.'

Zephaniah is a prophet warning about the Day of the Lord, judgement day. I find it interesting that in this verse he is not talking about all the evil things that people might do, he is simply talking about doing nothing, about being complacent and thinking the Lord will do nothing, good or bad.

Lord, thank you for salvation, for sending your Son to be our sacrifice. I pray that I will be active in my belief and not complacent. Amen.