OUR DAILY BREAD : FORCED LEISURE

[cimi]

March 5
Tuesday


FORCED LEISURE

READ:
Zephaniah 3:14-20
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The LORD your God
in your midst, the
Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over
you with gladness,
He will quiet you
with His love, He will rejoice over you with
singing. __Zeph. 3:17
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Just before Christmas one year, a friend was diagnosed with leukemia and was told she must begin chemotherapy immediately. Just a few weeks earlier, Kim had told friends how blessed and content she felt with a loving family, a comfortable home, and a new grandson. As she entered the hospital, Kim asked Jesus to make His presence known to her and to stay close.

The next 7 months of treatments followed by recovery in partial isolation became a season she calls "forced leisure." She says she learned how to slow down, reflect quietly, and rest in God's goodness, love, and perfect plan__regardless of whether or not she would be healed.

One of God's promises to His people Israel became personal to Kim: "The LORD your God...will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zeph. 3:17).

Kim is in remission after a journey she says changed her life for the better. Now back in her busy routine, she often pauses to recapture the lessons of "forced leisure."

How important that we__in good times or times of challenge__draw near to God's loving heart to hear His voice and place our lives in His hands. __David McCasland

```````````````A troubled heart, a wearied mind``````````````
``````````````````Are burdens hard to bear;`````````````````
````````````````A lack of peace, a heavy load````````````````
`````````````Are lifted by God's care. __Fitzhugh`````````````
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People are at the heart of Gods heart.

*************Today's Bible Reading __ Zephaniah 3:14-20***********

14 Sing, O daughter of
Zion! Shout, O Israel! Be
glad and rejoice with all
your heart, O daughter of
Jerusalem! 15 The LORD has
taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy,
The King of Israel, the
LORD, is in your midst; you
shall see disaster no more.

16 In that day it shall be
said to Jerusalem: "Do not
fear; Zion, let not your
hands be weak. 17 The LORD
your God in your midst, the
MIghty One, will save: He
will rejoice over you with
gladness, He will quiet you
with His love, He will
rejoice over you with
singing."

18 "I will gather those who
sorrow over the appointed
assembly, who are among
you, to whom its reproach
is a burden. 19 Behold, at
that time I will deal with all
who afflict you; I will save
the lame, and gather those
who were driven out; I will
appoint them for praise and
fame in every land where
they were put to shame.
20 At that time I will bring
you back, even at the time I
gather you; for I will give
you fame and praise among
all the peoples of the earth,
when I return your captives
before you eyes," says
the LORD.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Zephaniah, a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah, was among
the last of the prophets to speak to Judah prior to the Babylonian
captivity. Zephaniah's name means "the Lord has hidden or
guarded." In his ancestry are people of significance__including a
man named Hezekiah (1:1), who many scholars think was king
Hezekiah who reigned in Judah during the prophetic ministries of
Isaiah and Micah.