Guest Post by Author Lauri Lemke Thompson
“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 (NIV).
I arrived early on my first day at a new job and sat in my car in the huge parking
lot. A few jitters would be normal, but insecurity was ruling my roost. I had convinced myself that everyone in this 6,000-employee company was younger, thinner, smarter, more attractive and more confident than me.
I flashed back—way back to childhood—when barbs from a few thoughtless
people had stabbed me with words like dumb and worthless. Decades later, those words scrolled through my head. People here won’t respect you, I told myself—plus, are you even qualified for this position?
Then my math phobia flashed neon. I had “gotten away” with poor math skills,
but I suspected this job would expose my weakness and I would be humiliated. Why didn’t you just stay where you were, you ninny, my “self-talk” continued. Sure, you were bored, but you had that job nailed. Why, oh why, did you take this position?
I opened my Bible and read the following words: “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.”
God Himself delights in me and rejoices over me with singing? Unlikely, I thought. But it’s in the Bible so it must be true. The more I pondered that, something exciting happened: He actually “quieted me with His love.”
Before I got out of my car, I realized that maybe my worst fears would come to
pass and I’d be laughed at or excluded. Perhaps I would fail. But so what? God will still love me. I put a smile on my face and a spring in my step (or, more accurately, God did) as I walked through the company’s doors.
The new job did challenge me, but many of my fears proved unfounded. Even
the merited fears exacted zero effect on my Savior’s love for me. One way I
experienced that love was that God provided unusually supportive coworkers. One of them shared my Christian faith, was great at making me laugh in the middle of a stressful day, and became a valued friend.
Lord, Your love has become so personal to me. You rejoice over me with singing. How can it get any better than that? You don’t just tolerate me. No—rather, according to Your Word, I bring You bubbling-over joy (my translation!)
A Wisconsin native, Lauri Lemke Thompson appreciates living with her husband in the lovely Ozark mountains in Branson, Missouri. She is active in Christian Women’s Connection (Stonecroft) and the Ozarks Chapter of the American Christian Writers. She published a book called Hitting Pause, a collection of her articles and devotions. Her bimonthly column appears in the Branson Globe newspaper.