I have had a verse put on my heart that I can not shake and don't want to! Now, I am not a big memorizer, but this is one that has attached itself to my mind and I repeat several times a day. It is 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" (NIV - it makes a difference!). PRAISE GOD!!!!!! This verse to me encompasses the love and compassion God has for us at every moment of our lives, good and bad.
1. "The Lord your God is with you". That is it. It doesn't give parameters, such as "when you are praying," or "when you are singing worship music," or "when you are helping a friend," or "when you are cleaning the house with a joyful heart." It also does not give a moment when He is not with us. What a humble thought to know that my Father in heaven is with me at any moment, and every moment.
2. "He is mighty to save". Again, no parameters. He is strong and powerful and has the ability to overcome any challenge. So if He is with me, and He is mighty, there is nothing I cannot withstand. I am embarassed to think of how many times He has saved me. How many times He has wiped away my tears, wrapped me in his arms, and whispered words of love and encouragement. There is no way for me to know how many times He has saved me from Satan and myself.
3. "He will take great delight in you". This part makes me giddy. God, my heavenly father, creator of everything, will take delight in me? Really? Really!!!! What will that look like? What will it be like to have Him delight in me? And not just regular delight, but GREAT delight. I think of myself as a child, eager to do something that would make my mom give me "that look". You know, THAT LOOK that tells a child they have done something right, something that has made you so proud of them that words can't express your joy in what they have done. This is how imagine it. Making my Father proud - hallelujah!
4. "He will quiet you with His love". My 5 year old Tony woke up crying the other night at 2am. I waited a few minutes to see if he would fall back to sleep, but the crying only intensified. I went into his room to find him shivering with a fever. I immediately brought him into my bedroom, laid him down beside me, and wrapped my arms around him. His crying stopped, and within 5 minutes he was back to sleep. Was it the different bedroom, the different bed, the words that were spoke? No, it was my love that gave him comfort. When our children are upset (bad dream, broken toy, shots, scraped knee), they seek us out not for what we will say, but the comfort and love they will feel in our presence. Same with our Lord. He comforts us in this same way. The love and compassion He has for us in every situation, big or small, can comfort and soothe us like nothing else. All we have to do is allow ourselves to be comforted by Him, and not seek comfort in the world.5. "He will rejoice over you with singing." There are songs we sing at church that move me to tears. The chorus of one such song goes, "Oh no, you never let go, through the calm and through the storm. Oh no, you never let go, in every high and every low. Oh no, you never let go, you never let go of me." I get chills everytime we sing this because God has always had me by the hand, in every good and bad situation, when I wanted Him there and when I turned my back to Him. Now, if I feel this good about a song in church, how AMAZING will it be when I get to hear God rejoice over me with singing?
This verse goes to all He does for us - He is with us, He stands strong for us, He delights in us, He comforts us, and He sings for us.
Heavenly Father,
I thank you so much for this day you have given. Thank you for the opportunity to be with my family one more day. And Lord, I just thank you and praise you for your words of love and encouragement. I pray you would continue to show me your word and speak to me of your love.
Amen
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