DAILY DEVOTIONAL TODAY – May 18, 2025 || Our Daily Bread [Daily Devotion] | MamClaireTV

Devotional Message:
(Zephaniah 3:17)
"The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing."

Story: A Grandmother's Quiet Work

Years ago, there was a woman named Esther, a retired schoolteacher, known to most simply as “Grandma Essie.” She had lived a full life—raised four children, endured the loss of her husband, battled cancer twice, and was a quiet pillar in her community.

Every morning at 5:30 AM, even in her old age, she sat by the window with a cup of tea and a well-worn Bible. Her granddaughter, Leah, once stayed with her for a season during college and began to notice something strange. Grandma Essie kept notebooks full of handwritten prayers, scriptures, and names. She had pages titled things like “Promises for my grandchildren,” “Healing scriptures,” and even “Songs for the brokenhearted.”

One day, Leah asked, “Grandma, what are you doing every morning? What are all those notes?”

Esther smiled and said, “I call it my grandmother research. I’m studying the heart of God—not for information, but for transformation. I want to know how He sees us, how He loves us. Because if I’m going to leave anything behind, I want it to be more than just memories—I want to leave behind faith.”

That phrase—“grandmother research”—stuck with Leah. It wasn’t research in the usual sense. It was devotion. It was love. It was worship. And above all, it was rooted in the belief that God wasn’t just someone to know about—He was someone to experience.

Observation: What Does Zephaniah 3:17 Tell Us About God?

This verse from Zephaniah gives us a glimpse of God’s heart—a rare, poetic picture of how God feels about His people. The book of Zephaniah contains warnings of judgment, but it ends with this radiant promise of restoration.

1. “The Lord your God is