Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Next     Previous     Today

Listen to the Song

"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" (Zephaniah 3:17).

Here tucked away in one of the little known books, we have what I think is one of the most wonderful verses to be found anywhere in the Bible.  It has so much to say about God and how he relates to us.  Jesus said that we would know the truth and that it would set us free (John 8:32).  And, nowhere is that any more true than in the truths that we find in this passage of scripture.

"The LORD your God is with you."  That is more than just a beginning to a sentence.  So let's not just skim over it in our hurry to get on to the rest.  Stop.  The LORD — Yahweh, the I AM, etc., etc. — your God is with you.  This is the I will never leave you and I will never forsake you God.  And often throughout scripture he emphasizes his presence, especially to those whom he has called to a particular task.  You are not alone.  We are not alone, not ever.  The most powerful being in the universe is always by our side.  He has promised.  As we are going, we have this promise:  "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).

But wait, it gets better.  Not only is the LORD your God present in your present, he is mighty to save.  We have the all-powerful God of creation present in our today.  Mighty to save.  And yes, obviously it is vitally important that we are saved from our sins, but God's salvation, his deliverance, is total life salvation.  Is there anything that we need to be saved from today?  Do we need some kind of deliverance?  God is present and he has all the power and resources necessary to change our now from a prison to a paradise.  Thank you, God!  I cannot save myself.  I cannot change my situation.  But you, for you it is no problem!  Mighty to save.  "You have not because you ask not."

"He will take great delight in you."  We all "know" that God loves us.  We read the words.  And we accept them as a statement of fact.  This passage would push us way beyond that.  God doesn't just love me and you in some kind of abstract way.  He delights.  His heart speeds up and even skips a beat just at the sight of you!  He feels inside of himself that thing that we say makes the world go around.  Love.  And, he doesn't just delight in you a little bit.  No, this is a great big delight, a love kind of feeling that won't let him think about much else.  You have captured his heart!  Great delight!  One look in your direction and he can't wipe the smile off of his face!  He is crazy in love with you!

God acts on his love.  Love cares deeply about the other person and does everything that it can for the other.  "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  Love never fails" (1 Corinthians 13:7-8).  The word here says that "he will quiet you with his love."  So, whatever is going on in your life right now is probably trying to make a lot of noise.  You may be anxious or confused or any of a multitude of things.  God knows those things.  And he knows and loves you.  And if we will simply receive his love for us, there can and will be the peace and quiet and rest that we desire.  Like a little child held in it's mothers' arms, so is the love of God for you and me.

And then, God starts to sing!  A love song.  One that he has specifically written about his love for you.  The world is filled with love songs.  Would it be true to say that most of the songs ever written are love songs?  None could compare with the one that God is right now singing about you.  He has another completely different song that he has written and is singing over me.  "He will rejoice over you with singing."  You bring God joy!  So do I.  How is that possible, we ask?  I don't know.  We do.  And, while I have no theology to back it up, my heart says that one of the joys of eternity will be a private concert in which I can listen to all the words and music of his specific song for me!  And then, for me to sing one in return.

He is singing a song for you.  Listen for it today.  He is head-over-heels in love with you!

Next     Previous     Today