In your midst

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior.  He will exult over you with joy, He is quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” Zephaniah 3:17

In your midst – The battle we face is not fought on the outside.  We are engaged in a conflict on the inside.  That is where the real war is won or lost.  Every good motivation speaker will tell you the same thing.  If you are going to be successful, you must focus on internal victory first.  The outward results are nothing more that the product of internal commitment.

This word is about presence so deep you can feel it in your guts.  Yes, it’s true that this word (qereb) is used in this instance for the middle of the camp, but most of the two hundred occurrences in the Old Testament are about the inner organs of the body or the inner being of a person (Psalm 39:3 and 55:4, for example).  It’s worth taking a moment to consider the implications.  God in the midst means a God who resides in us.  And if God resides in us, how can we not be victorious?

God begins with the heart.  Outward compliance, even outward excellence, means nothing unless God is in the midst.  If God is not the source of your accomplishments, you have lost the war no matter how many victories you attain.

Our world turns this truth inside-out.  We measure success on the basis of the visible.  God measures the invisible.  We determine values on the basis of external accomplishments.  God determines values on the basis of internal commitment.  We gain nothing by being in the “proximity” of God.  Our victory must come by God in the middle of us.

Put your hand over your heart.  Feel the beat of life within.  Then remind yourself that God is the Master of that life.  He has granted you another day so that you can know His presence in your midst.  He is never further away than the next heartbeat.  It is His life in your midst.  What will you do with it today?

What I will do:  At least two times today, I will feel the beating of my heart and remember that God gives me life to share with others.

(continued tomorrow)