For 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.

Zephaniah 3:17

I promised myself that I would not get on social media in the morning before I had opened my Bible and read it. One morning though as I struggled to get out of bed I grabbed my phone to answer a text message instead of grabbing my Bible.

Of course, I did not stop at texting. I decided to just take a peek at Facebook. Have you ever tried to just take a peek at social media? It seems to draw you in as you go from one post to another. It reminds me of that potato chip ad which brags you could not eat just one of them.

As I scrolled through the many posts, I noticed a childhood friend asked for prayer for her anxiety. Interestingly enough, I claimed anxiety as my reason for difficulty getting out of bed. I told her I struggled with the same thing and promised to pray.

That caused me to do what I should have done at first – pick up my Bible and start reading. My reading plan led me to Zephaniah. That did not really excite me until I got to verse 3:17. God is with me. He takes delight in me. He will quiet me with His love. I could not imagine a better verse for that day. My spirit lifted, I did feel calmer and quieter, wrapped in His Love.

I could not wait to return to Facebook and share that verse with my friend. If I would have read my Bible first I could have been more prepared to encourage her with it in the beginning. I would also have felt more encouraged myself.

God, You give me the calm spirit I need. Your delight strengthens me. Your might astounds me. I rejoice in You.

Susan P.