Nibble #4
New International Version
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 distinctly remember the first time I heard God described as Romantic. It seemed blasphemous at the time. Somehow, it just didn’t seem very reverent to be romantic. Initially, it felt like I was reducing God to a very weak and mushy place, like I was making him to be like me. What I’ve found is that romance stems from God and when we are romantic it makes us like Him.
This verse is one of the most romantic verses in the Bible. It speaks of God’s passion for His people. He makes some pretty candid admissions regarding his feelings for us. You see God putting his heart out on the table hoping that his crush won’t be crushed. There’s nothing as scary as letting someone know your deepest feelings and waiting for them to respond. But here, God does the unthinkable. He gets emotional.
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.” I can’t tell you how many times in my life that God has saved the day. Without his presence, I’m a goner, a loner, a loser. I’ve been around the block enough times now to know that anything I’ve done is because He’s been with me.
“He will take great delight in you…” For so many years of my life, this attribute of God was unheard of. I couldn’t have imagined that God not only loved me, but that he liked me. He didn’t just endure me, he enjoyed me. A simple way of interpreting this verse is that “God looks at us and smiles.” For so many, they can’t imagine a God who laughs or smiles. I can’t see how you could go on without knowing that God felt this way about you. There are certain days when this truth alone sustains me. Nothing transforms the human heart like the delight of God.
“He will quiet you with his love…” God is moving closer with every phrase. His smile becomes a soothing whisper, a gentle lullaby. Like a mother rubbing the head of her little one after a terrible nightmare, God quiets the storms that rage inside with the reassurance of His love. Love is a quieting and curing agent. I wonder how many let God get this close to them? This verse speaks of a God that gets so close that you not only hear his voice, you feel his breath. When God comes, he calms.
“He will rejoice over you with singing.” Here it is again…God rejoicing. He’s not only holy, he’s happy! He has fun. He has a life. He gets excited about stuff, namely, us. We give him exceeding joy, so much so that he bursts into song. Wouldn’t you love to hear God sing? This word singing can also be translated, dancing. For many, God doesn’t move from “the throne”. He’s merely a fixture perched in a high and lofty place stationary and stoic. But not only does God move; He’s got moves. And the source of his euphoria is us. I know this sounds so humanistic, but God isn’t just about Himself. He takes joy in us. I love to imagine God singing and dancing over me. Anyone who gets that worked up over me deserves my love in return.
I can’t tell you how thankful I am to know “this” God. “This” God takes my breath away. I love to tell people about “this” God. I’m proud to know and be known by “this” God. All you can say to “this” God is, “I love you, too!” We love Him because He first loved us. Period.
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 distinctly remember the first time I heard God described as Romantic. It seemed blasphemous at the time. Somehow, it just didn’t seem very reverent to be romantic. Initially, it felt like I was reducing God to a very weak and mushy place, like I was making him to be like me. What I’ve found is that romance stems from God and when we are romantic it makes us like Him.
This verse is one of the most romantic verses in the Bible. It speaks of God’s passion for His people. He makes some pretty candid admissions regarding his feelings for us. You see God putting his heart out on the table hoping that his crush won’t be crushed. There’s nothing as scary as letting someone know your deepest feelings and waiting for them to respond. But here, God does the unthinkable. He gets emotional.
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.” I can’t tell you how many times in my life that God has saved the day. Without his presence, I’m a goner, a loner, a loser. I’ve been around the block enough times now to know that anything I’ve done is because He’s been with me.
“He will take great delight in you…” For so many years of my life, this attribute of God was unheard of. I couldn’t have imagined that God not only loved me, but that he liked me. He didn’t just endure me, he enjoyed me. A simple way of interpreting this verse is that “God looks at us and smiles.” For so many, they can’t imagine a God who laughs or smiles. I can’t see how you could go on without knowing that God felt this way about you. There are certain days when this truth alone sustains me. Nothing transforms the human heart like the delight of God.
“He will quiet you with his love…” God is moving closer with every phrase. His smile becomes a soothing whisper, a gentle lullaby. Like a mother rubbing the head of her little one after a terrible nightmare, God quiets the storms that rage inside with the reassurance of His love. Love is a quieting and curing agent. I wonder how many let God get this close to them? This verse speaks of a God that gets so close that you not only hear his voice, you feel his breath. When God comes, he calms.
“He will rejoice over you with singing.” Here it is again…God rejoicing. He’s not only holy, he’s happy! He has fun. He has a life. He gets excited about stuff, namely, us. We give him exceeding joy, so much so that he bursts into song. Wouldn’t you love to hear God sing? This word singing can also be translated, dancing. For many, God doesn’t move from “the throne”. He’s merely a fixture perched in a high and lofty place stationary and stoic. But not only does God move; He’s got moves. And the source of his euphoria is us. I know this sounds so humanistic, but God isn’t just about Himself. He takes joy in us. I love to imagine God singing and dancing over me. Anyone who gets that worked up over me deserves my love in return.
I can’t tell you how thankful I am to know “this” God. “This” God takes my breath away. I love to tell people about “this” God. I’m proud to know and be known by “this” God. All you can say to “this” God is, “I love you, too!” We love Him because He first loved us. Period.
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