Waist Deep 2018 - August 7

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. (NIV)

If God sings, shall not we sing?*

Bedtime was the most special time of day for me when my boys were little. No matter how hectic the day had been, at bedtime we always had some special time together – to read, to talk, to pray, to sing. (And they weren’t critical of my singing ability – then.) This verse paints a picture for me, of my Heavenly Father, tucking in his daughter at night and singing her a lullaby, much as I did with my own children. Zephaniah reveals that God finds so much joy and delight in us that he breaks into song.*

David Guzik wrote: “We often underestimate the joy God has in His people, and too often think God is annoyed or irritated with us.”* Yes, we break his heart with our rebellion and defiance or our indifference; but don’t we experience similar sorrow at the hands of our children? How far would our children have to stray before we would no longer desire to delight in them; to quiet them with our love; to rejoice over them with singing?

Guzik also observed that when God created the world, it didn’t make him sing - it was the salvation of his redeemed that caused him to rejoice.* We are that big of a deal to the all-powerful creator of the universe!

Why don’t I let my Father do for me what I am more than willing to do for my own children?*