Zephaniah 3:17
For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
The world has had gods in every culture since the beginning of time. Most are familiar with the Greek, Roman, and Egyptian gods from grade school lessons. Generally, all of these gods spent their time fighting each other and generally avoiding humanity (or occasionally trying to have sex with humans). The sacred and the secular are often seen as needing to be very separate, and in our society we see this when we squirm at the idea of swearing in a church. However, today’s verse says that the God of the Bible is living among us. Not only that, he loves us and wants to calm our fears. He’s even singing songs over us.
Here’s your freedom for today: God delights in you.
God is not a distant deity, far from humanity that he has abandoned to our own ways. He is here, with us, delighting in us and calming us. He is singing sweet lullabies over you today. The Bible frequently calls us God’s children, and I imagine a tender parent holding a small child, singing and soothing in ways all of us have done. If we can show care for children, how much more can God nurture us? Not only that, but he delights to do it. He is thrilled to be your Father.