“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).
When my son was young, he was in a preschool performance for Mother’s Day. He was supposed to be looking at his teacher to follow her prompts, but his eyes were glued on me the entire time, and with his whole heart he sang every song just for me. His face lit up with joy, and so did mine.
That’s the kind of joy I want to feel in God’s presence. I want my eyes glued on Him and my heart filled with the delight of just being with Him.
But did you know that as believers, that’s how God feels when we are with Him?
We see over and over in the Bible how God not only pursues us, but joyfully celebrates over us.
- In the parable of the prodigal son, God is the Father who runs to greet his son, throwing his arms around him and celebrating his return (Luke 15:11-24).
- In the parable of the lost sheep, Jesus is the shepherd who leaves the 99 to pursue the one lost sheep. When He finds it, He places the lost one over His shoulders with rejoicing and calls everyone He knows to rejoice with Him.
- In Psalm 18:19, King David declares that God “rescued me because he delighted in me.”
- And Zephaniah 3:17 declares that God will “rejoice over you with gladness.”
Friend, when you place your trust in Jesus, when you surrender to His reign, you not only find salvation, you find unlimited, unconditional, joyful love. A love that rejoices over you.
Until next time,
Shelby
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