DO YOU NEED A FRIEND WHO UNDERSTANDS YOU AND ENCOURAGES YOU?

SCRIPTURE:
“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)

MEDITATION:
Do you think it is true to say that everyone could use a personal cheerleader?
We can be down in our spirit and need an encourager.
We can have anxieties and need someone with wisdom to calm us down.
We may need someone to appreciate who we are and what we do.

The scriptures tell us that we do have someone “in our corner”.
We are told that our Lord is with us.
Notice it says “your Lord”;
if He is not your Lord, then the implication is He is not with you.

We are also told about His unlimited power;
God is the one who can ultimately save people.
When He is Lord of our lives, He will “take great delight in us”.
That implies that He enjoys observing our lives and is ready to help us.

How does He help us?
He “quiets us with His love”.
What a reassuring thought to realize that God, the Creator of the universe, 
will comfort us when we are stressed, worried, or having anxieties. 
How does He comfort us? 
He showers us with His love.

We are also told that He will “rejoice over us with singing”.
Can you visualize God rejoicing over you with singing?
What an awesome thought!
God is a fan of His people, and He enjoys seeing us strive for righteousness.
If we accept ourselves as failures, then we are destined to continue to fail.
Instead, we should allow God to show us 
how each failure can be a stepping stone to success.

He can be everywhere at once, listening and responding to the prayers of 
all who call out in the name of Christ, while performing many miracles 
such as keeping the stars in their places, filling the sea with fish, 
and causing plants to burst up from the ground. 

There is no limit to God. 
There is no limit to His wisdom. 
There is no limit to His power. 
There is no limit to His love. 
There is no limit to His mercy.
God is limitless, AND He considers each of His children as special.

ACTION:
Has the Lord become the Lord of your life?
It is not just a statement, it is an action.
It means that you have given Him control of your life 
and are willing to do and not do the things He commands of you.

Claiming that He is your Lord is not like a smorgasbord 
where you choose which things you will yield to Him 
and which things you will keep to yourself.
There is no such thing as a partial Lord of your life;
either He is Lord (of all), or He is not.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, I have delayed way too long in giving You 
Your rightful place in my life. I want to be able to call you my 
Lord because I have yielded my life to You. Forgive me for my 
partial commitment and help be to be fully committed to You. I 
know that when I can honestly call You Lord, You will be with 
me, You will calm me with Your love, and You will encourage 
me as I strive for righteousness and try to serve You in whatever 
way You have chosen specifically for me.”