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.
This is such a cool verse! God will do each and every one of the things mentioned in this verse for all believers.
He is with me...
He will save me...
He takes delight in me...
He will not criticize me...
He will rejoice over me with singing...
This verse doesn’t say he may or may not do these things. It says he will do them. I absolutely love the picture I get when I read the last part of this verse. He “...will rejoice over you with singing.” Wow! Woo hoo! My Heavenly Father will sing over me. The ESV version says, “He will exult over you with loud singing.” Exult means to leap for joy or be extremely joyful. My Heavenly Father will leap for joy over me while singing loudly! What a picture! That excites me! I also like the part about Him no longer rebuking me. I had to do some digging on that one since it was a bit perplexing. I found that criticizing is another word for rebuking. That makes sense to me. My Heavenly Father would never criticize me because that would be a negative. My Heavenly Father is One who works only with positives. He builds me up...He doesn’t tear me down.
When I think about this verse, I am encouraged in knowing He loves me. Not only does He love me but He takes delight in me. Woo hoo! When people or circumstances of this world get me down, all I have to do is think about this verse and I will realize they aren’t the most important thing in my life. God is. He is the Only One I need to please. He is the Only One that can save me. He is the Only One who will rejoice over me with singing.
This prophetic chapter in Zephaniah is about the restoration of Jerusalem. Yet as I read it I see the restoration of a believer. God's mercy and grace will be in abundance when one turns to Him. I think about a young child who does wrong and goes to their parent for punishment. When the punishment is done in love, the relationship deepens. When the punishment is done in meanness, a wall goes up between the child and parent. That's the same as with the Lord. When we repent of our sins and He takes us into His arms with love, we are more drawn to Him than if He would be harsh with us.
I love the words of Matthew Henry on this particular chapter….
Many are the troubles of the righteous, but they may rejoice in God's love. Surely our hearts should honour the Lord, and rejoice in him, when we hear such words of condescension and grace. If now kept from his ordinances, it is our trial and grief; but in due time we shall be gathered into his temple above. The glory and happiness of the believer will be perfect, unchangeable, and eternal, when he is freed from earthly sorrows, and brought to heavenly bliss.
What a blessing to think about how life can be when we surrender to the Lord. When we no longer have to worry about things on this earth, we will be with Him in heaven. The way Matthew Henry states that is so cool…."heavenly bliss"…woo hoo! Bliss…contentment…joy…woo hoo! I have found that living a life of surrender to the Lord gives me bliss on this earth. I have found true contentment no matter what is going on in my life. Contentment that Paul writes about in Philippians 4 is attainable when we surrender to the Lord.
This morning I have "Overwhelmed" on my lips. I am so "Overwhelmed" by His love. "I delight myself in You…In the Glory of Your Presence" is the way I live each and every day. I can truly say I am "Unashamed because of mercy" and know there is no better place to be than in His arms. He is "Beautiful"…He is "Wonderful"…He is "Glorious"…He is the One to overwhelm me.
Dear Jesus,
Thank You for this verse. Thank You for the way You speak to me in so many different ways. Thank You for loving me so deeply. Lord, I'm so grateful for the restoration that You orchestrated in my life. I praise Your Holy Name for giving me the word picture of You singing over me. Lord, I want to be joy in Your heart as You are Joy in mine. Father, I know the way for that to happen is for You to give me more of You and less of me. Lord, I pray for those who are feeling inadequate today. Perhaps it's in their marital relationship, their job, their child/parent relationship or just in life in general. Whatever is causing them to feel this way, I pray they will find You and be encouraged by You. Father, direct my words, my feet, and my attitude wherever You lead me today. Thank You Jesus for being the One to Overwhelm Me. Amen.
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