Baby Steps

Oct 12, 2021

"For the LORD your God is living among you.

He is a Mighty Savior.

He takes great delight in you with gladness.

With His love, He will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs!"

- Prophet Zephaniah, Zephaniah 3:17

Dr. Marvin: "One day at a time, Bob… one tiny step at a time -- doable, accomplishable goals."

Bob: "Baby steps!"

Dr. Marvin: "When you leave this office, Bob, don't think about everything you have to do to get out of the building, just deal with getting out of this room. When you reach the hall, just deal with the hall. And so forth. Baby steps!"

- From the Movie: "What About Bob?"

This last week, Candace and I received a video of our youngest granddaughter, Dottie, making her very first attempt at crawling. Up until now her capacity to move, to travel, to cover any ground at all, was limited to rolling over and over and over until she reached the toy she wanted. But today, for the first time ever, she discovered the power of crawling… the ability to move from Point A to Point B with the lightening speed… of a turtle… all by herself!

And even though it was physically grueling and mentally exhausting...I mean...Try it… suspending your body up in the air while simultaneously moving your hands and feet in synchronized rhythm in order to propel yourself forward… Wow! And even though it was an exacting trial of endurance… she beamed with the biggest smile ever! It was Shiloh, her 4 year old cousin, who saw that smile and remarked, "She's smiling cause she's so proud of herself!"

Think about it… she was surrounded by people who were walking and talking and running… she was surrounded by people who were way more gifted and talented and capable than she was. But, she wasn't focused on their superior gifting… she wasn't comparing herself to them. She was focused on the fact that, for the first time in her life, she did something she had never done before. She crawled… and that made her smile!

Here's the question: When's the last time you were really proud of yourself? When's the last time you refused to compare yourself to someone else and just felt the Lord God's delight because you did something good you had never done before? Chances are… it's been awhile, right?

Not long ago, a friend did something for the first time that was really really good. Someone had taken advantage of him in a way that really hurt. He said to me that in the past he would've evened the score… he would have repaid unkindness with unkindness. But, this time, he told me that after reading what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount about repaying evil with kindness… he decided to repay the hurt with forgiveness. He told this other person how they had injured him… that he didn't want it to happen again… but that he had let it go. I looked at him and said, "Man, I am really proud of you!" "You should be proud of you!" He laughed and said, "Yeah, I would be, except I know what I was muttering under my breath to him even as I forgave him." Ha! "Even so," I said, "You should be proud of you because God is proud of you!" "How do you know that?" He asked.

I told him about the Prophet Zephaniah… my favorite Old Testament prophet, because he's the most forgotten prophet. Often confused with the famous prophet, Zechariah, who prophesied the coming of the Messiah, Zephaniah gets no respect… plus his book is only 3 very short chapters. However, you need to know this book for two reasons… 1) ‘Cause someday, in Heaven, you'll be walking along and Zephaniah's going to come up to you and ask, "Hey, what'd ya think of my book?" Ahhhh… you don't want that… not in front of Moses or Jesus (Smile). 2) His message is this: God is proud of you!

In a day when many of God's people in Judah had fallen away into immorality and idolatry and rebellion, there was a community of people who were faithful to the values and the commandments of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their steadfast devotion to Him made them a target to those who were chasing after false gods and empty pleasures. And so, to this small contingent of faithful followers, the Prophet Zephaniah declares, "God is proud of you!"

For the LORD your God is living among You!

He is a Mighty Savior!

He takes great Delight in You!

He looks upon You with Gladness!

With His love, He will calm all your fears!

He rejoices over you with Joyful Songs!"

- Zephaniah 3:17

The lesson is this: When you are in relationship with God the Father… through your belief in the price Jesus paid on that cross to forgive all your sin, and by your faith that Jesus rose from the dead as your Lord… Well, God is proud of you!

You have chosen to declare your allegiance to Jesus in a world that does not easily embrace Him. Many times, your heart has become a target for those who oppose His values and despise His ways.

So, if today, you feel surrounded by people more gifted and more talented and more capable than you...

So, if today, you feel surrounded by people who believe differently than you or who live differently from you...

So, if today, you feel surrounded by people who are walking... or running... or flying right by you…

Remember… even if you're just crawling, not making a lot of headway, crawl like Dottie… with a huge smile on your face… Because God the Father is proud of you!