Zephaniah 3:17
“The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”
What a wonderful verse. Many of these Old Testament books have the people forsaking the Lord and worshipping idols and going astray. So judgment is spoken against them. As I was reading through Zephaniah I came across this verse. I’ve heard it before. It’s a beautiful description of God’s love for us.
The first action mentioned is that He will save us. He certainly has. I was 17 years old inwhich I was seeking all that I could for myself. Some of that didn’t make me a very good friend or boyfriend. I got injured and couldn’t participate in the sport that bound me to my friends. They had gotten jobs and were busy there and had gotten new friends. While I was still in their lives they were moving on. I was lonely. I went to a youth group and they had a band and an altar call. All I heard was that if you’re with God come on up. I wasn’t a christian and had no idea what I was doing. But He saved me. I wasn’t going to church, but He was in my life. He filled my mind. I began talking about Him all the time. He eventually brought believers in my path and He brought me deeper into a relationship with Him.
The next part in the verse says, “He will rejoice over you with gladness”. So cool. Everyone wants this. We can see people post about themselves on social media and hope they get likes. Many times they are disappointed. But God likes us and rejoices over us. He gives us the attention we crave. We learn to be content in His love. We aren’t searching for it. He’s enough. We have our own rooting section. We should personalize this. I Peter 1:12 speaks of how the angels are curious about how the Lord works in our lives. He also uses them as servants in the lives of people.
The next part of the verse says “He will quiet you in His love”. This makes me think of a child coming home from school upset. The mother embraces and gives love. The child settles down and is enveloped in that love. All is well. God does this for us. We might not sense it like that, but He does. He can use people to do that. It may be through a quiet time and the Holy Spirit loves us. When we go back into the problematic situation He is with us. Keep praying and trusting Him and He will work it for the best.
Thank You, Lord for Your Word. You’ve blessed us so. Thank You that You rejoice over us. Thank You that You quiet us in Your love. You are so good.