"This
is the Word that the Lord spoke to Zephaniah" (Zephaniah 1:1).
Straightaway, our attention is drawn away from the prophet to the Lord -
"The Lord spoke His Word" (Zephaniah 1:1). How are we to hear the Word
of the Lord? - "Be silent in the presence of the Almighty Lord"
(Zephaniah 1:7). How can we hear what the Lord is saying to us, if we're
too busy speaking? We must listen to God, if we are to hear what He is
saying to us. What we hear from the Lord may not be what we want to
hear. It will be what we need to hear. He speaks to us His Word of
judgment so that we might see ourselves as sinners and come to Him for
salvation.
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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