Week 15:
Zephaniah 3:17 “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.”
I hear the phrase, “God is with you.” a lot. But do I really believe it? There are times in my life where it is difficult for me to see God is with me. However, when I read passages like this one it is revealed to me that God is with me…possibly in ways I don not realize.
The first thing that comes to mind in the first few words of the passage is Emmanuel, “God with us”. Jesus was Emmanuel. He was God among us. He was the extension of the living God and his life is an example of what God intended for man. Just reading about him allows me to see where God is with me.
Second, God is mighty to save. There is nothing in my life that God cannot handle or save me from. He is on the throne and reigns forever. His mighty, saving hand is more powerful than anything I can face in my life and he is willing to save me. He sent his son as proof that he is willing to save me.
Third, he takes great delight in me. This is hard for me to fathom. I see the evil parts of me and the sinful actions that I practice. Because of those, I tend to judge myself and believe that God has the same judgment for me. I actually cast myself onto God and assume he judges me as I judge myself. However, God delights in me. He sees past my evil and my actions into my heart and calls me good. What a comfort!
Fourth, when my soul is restless, he will quiet me with his love. In times of fear and restlessness, God is with me. I need to bask in his love for me. There are so many ways he shows his love for me and I need to recognize those as I hit times of restlessness. In those times that I feel peace and comfort, I need to recognize that God has quieted me with his love.
Finally, he rejoices over me with singing. In Genesis, God makes man his crowning work of creation. He saw that it was good to make us, humans. Not only does he see us as his crowning work, he rejoices over us. Not only does he rejoice…he also sings over us. I would love to hear God sing. Can you imagine? I have had songs touch and move me many times. Maybe these are times that God is singing over me and I get a glimpse of what it is like as he rejoices in me.
This passage is a great reminder that God loves us and is rooting for us. When I do not feel worthy, I am reminded that God is mighty to save, delights in me, quiets me with his love, and rejoices over me with singing. What a wonderful God we serve!
Questions/challenges:
1. In what ways do you judge yourself harshly?
2. Explain a time when God has shown you his love.
3. What came to mind for you when you read, ‘he will rejoice over you with singing.’?
4. This week, look for ways that God is with you. Pay particular attention to the ways the passage points out that God is with us.
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