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Visible and Tangible · The Holy Pause

• 0:00
  [music]
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: A reading from Scripture.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Zephaniah, chapter 3, verses 14-17.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sing, daughter Zion.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Shout aloud, Israel.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, daughter Jerusalem.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord has taken away your punishment.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: He has turned back your enemy.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord, the King of Israel, is with you.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: Never again will you fear harm.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: On that day they will say to Jerusalem, Do not fear, Zion.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Do not let your hands go limp.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: He will take great delight in you.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: In his love he will no longer rebuke you, but rejoice over you by singing.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: The Lord your God is with you.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Did you ever get lost in a store
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: or Ever find yourself wandering grocery store aisles or staring up
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: at unfamiliar faces in a department store?
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: All because you wandered a bit too far away from the guardian who was with you?
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I did.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: Several times as a young child.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: My mom warned me and warned me to stay close and yet the excitement of
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: that thing just around the corner always seemed to guide me a bit more
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: than her words.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: And so I would find myself alone On an empty aisle,
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: completely panicked and paralyzed by the possibility
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: that I would never find my way back to anyone I knew and loved.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then it would always happen.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: I would hear, I'm right here.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Followed by the concurrent lecture about wandering away.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: But the words that mattered in that moment,
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: the words that made everything stop spinning and made my heart leap were...
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm right here.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't care if I was going to get in trouble.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: In that moment, there was deep celebration in my core for being found and being safe.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: God's love is like that, I believe.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: It searches us out again and again and again regardless of the number of times we wander off.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: And when we are found again and again and again, We are not to simply acknowledge the reunion.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: We are to celebrate it.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: That love is a relationship that brings a deep sense of joy,
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: the kind of joy that naturally spills over into celebration.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Notice that the command to rejoice is communal.
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: Sing, shout, rejoice.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Faith is not meant to be lived in isolation or in fear of punishment or retribution.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: It is meant to be lived in joy and open celebration and gratitude over and over again.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: When we gather and encourage one another,
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: worship together,
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: laugh together,
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: and celebrate God's goodness,
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: we become witnesses to the joy of this love and we are never alone in that faith.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: We are always found.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: Join me in prayer.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast was written by Katherine Piper.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: And recorded by Reverend Elizabeth Troyer with audio engineering
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: and editing assistance from Jermaine Taylor.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: This podcast will always be free,
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: but if you would like to donate to our online ministry,
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: you can do so at wakeforestpres.org slash give.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ask, how can I change myself?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: But instead ask, how can I invest in the people and places that can change me?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Write down where or who comes to mind and how they are forming you.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: Join me in prayer.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Lord of Rhythms, we come to you asking to be transformed.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Bathe us in your river of faith.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Form us with your hands.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Give us patience for this long process.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: Most of all God, guide us to the places where our hearts can be transformed by your love.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Amen.