Good Morning!
I ran across a verse last night that is worthy.
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord you 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.
Outside of worship bands, most likely aren’t familiar of this verse. It’s packed full of truth and promise that could be a sermon series in itself. Let’s touch our toes in this pool today.
This was written by one of the minor prophets, around 630 B.C. Back then, the Hebrews were divided into Judah and Israel. More often than not, the two nations worshiped idols and committed all sorts of atrocities against God. They eventually met His wrath by the Babylonians who carried them into exile. We read all throught the prophets who lay harsh condemnation and warnings to repent and turn from wicked ways. We also see great promises and prophesy of days to come. Furthermore, we get a glimpse of our eternal home. It is in this light that we look at our verse. Even so, it is not just a day to come, it is a day that begins the moment God forgives our sins and we become his children. This is a big deal. Let’s look at one familiar verse and the two that follow to see if we can begin to appreciate what God has done for us.
Romans 8:28-30 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the first-born among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
Honestly, I’m a little uncomfortable with the thought of being glorified because I know the nasty things that go through my mind. Yet, the word is there. I guess the only way to come to grips with this is to look at the word first.
Glorify: 1. Praise and worship (God), 2. Describe or represent as admirable, especially unjustifiably. (syn. elevate, celebrate, honor, enshrine, etc.)
Ok, I can relate to the “especially unjustifiably” part, but that isn’t what really happens. What does happen is that God looks at us as he looks at his perfect Son, who is completely justified – perfect! It was Jesus who took our place. God sees his perfection, not our sin. Furthermore, God is transforming us to be the perfect likeness of Jesus – who is the perfect image of God (Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:3). We have a hard time coming to grips with all this, so we seldom ponder Romans 8:29-30.
But we should because if we did we could start to comprehend what God is promising to us in Zephaniah 3:17.
– God will REJOICE over you with GLADNESS!
– God will QUIET you by his LOVE!
– God will EXULT you with LOUD SINGING!
Can you imagine God signing loudly for you? God? Singing? That’s what it says, my friends! God will sign over you. Not only that but he will sing LOUDLY! Can you imagine this!
What exactly does “exult” mean, anyway? Glad you asked!
Exult: show or feel elation or jubilation, especially as the result of success.
Folks, if you want to get grounded in reality today, ponder these things. God – the maker of heaven and earth and all that is in it – is celebrating over you and singing loudly about it! Picture that! And, if God is singing, you can bet the whole chorus of angels is singing with him, too!!
My friends, what could possibly overshadow that? Absolutely nothing. So, today, think about these things. Someday you will physically be in heaven, yet today God is singing loudly for you. Your salvation has already begun! We’re on our way home!
Father, it’s hard for me to comprehend all this, yet your words are clear. They have never been proven false nor will they ever be. I can trust and rely on what you say in the pages of the bible. And, today, I read that you are singing loudly for me. That’s incredible, Father. Thank you! Amen.
Copyright © 2017 Scott Powers