Scripture: “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.” – Zephaniah 3:17
Examination: The prophet Zephaniah speaks to a time when God will restore Israel, and all nations will know God for who He is. It is at this time that the Lord will judge and punish the enemies of Israel, and He will rejoice over the restoration of His people to the land with great joy.
Application: When I first met my husband, I was in high school, and not really interested in having a boyfriend, but my heart was smitten soon after we met. I wanted to learn everything about him, so we had many long talks after work. The more I learned, the more I was drawn to him. We were so different, but it didn’t matter. Before I really grasped what was happening, I had “fallen in love” with him. From then on, every moment I could, I spent with him, and it was glorious!
God’s love is like that. When we accept Jesus as our Saviour, all of heaven rejoices! Our heavenly Father rejoices with singing and great joy! While He knows everything there is to know about us, He still wants to spend time with us cultivating a deep personal relationship that is built upon a foundation of divine love. He cherishes the moments we spend in prayer and in His Word. God rejoices when we learn more about Him because He loves us with such intensity and wants us to fall head over heels in love with Him, spending every moment we can with Him! Jesus told us what God desires of us in Matthew 22:37, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
Isaiah 62:5 tells us this about God’s love for us, “… as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” I remember seeing the joy on my husband’s face when I walked down the aisle to become his wife. The love reflected in his eyes remains etched in my memory. That is how Christ feels about each one of us! We are His bride, and He love us with an everlasting love! (Jeremiah 31:3).
As we meditate on that love, remember that nothing can separate us from it. Even our sin, intended to be an unbreachable barrier to the Lord, was destroyed at Calvary. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross to pay for our sins, providing the only way of reconciliation. Ephesians 5:2 states, “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” Before we could ever love Him, He loved us.
Memory Verse: “We love him, because he first loved us.” – 1 John 4:19
In letters of crimson, God wrote His love
On the hillside so long, long ago
For you and for me Jesus died
And love's greatest story was told
"I love you, I love you"
That's what Calvary said
I love you, I love you
"I love you" written in red
(from “Written in Red” by Gordon Jensen)
Such a special devotion!
Thank you for sharing these special Scriptures about God’s joy and rejoicing because of His love for us!