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.”
Zephaniah 3:17 NKJV
We often talk about the transformation that happens when we accept Christ. How, by God’s grace, we turn from sin towards righteousness. But we rarely talk about how God feels when we welcome him.
God is with us right now in our midst. Like in the days of Genesis, when God would come and walk in the cool of the evening, and when Jesus lived among us, by the Holy Spirit, God is with us now. He’s been anxiously, persistently standing on our doorstep knocking. He is overjoyed when we finally open the door, allowing him admittance so we may have the personal relationship with him he desires.
God saves us because He wants to. He’s under no obligation; we’re not deserving, but by his love, he battles for us. Mighty Warrior is part of his character. Upon letting him into our lives, he becomes our bodyguard and defender. Where we fail in our attempts to fight evil on our own, God wades into the thick of the fight, succeeding where we can’t.
God takes great delight in us–not just delight–but great delight. We give God pleasure! Yes, we sometimes fail and may be a disappointment, but God loves us for our trying. He picks us up, brushes us off, and is prepared to repeat it as often as necessary.
God rejoices over us with singing. How wonderful is that image? Remember The Sound of Music, with Julie Andrews, standing in the meadow, “The hills are alive with the sound of music. With songs they have sung for a thousand years. The hills fill my heart with the sound of music,” perhaps it’s something like that. While there are many verses about angels singing to God, here it’s God singing–maybe the angels are on backup. I imagine God singing in a sweet tenor or rich baritone, something cheerful, lively, and upbeat–a heavenly song that we can’t comprehend but is uniquely beautiful.
Father, we confess we are unworthy except by your grace and are humbled by the great delight and rejoicing you find in us. Thank you for extending your love to us. Amen.
Blessings,
Pastor Tim
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