December 19

Making God Sing 

Today’s Scripture Readings: Psalm 143:7-12 | Zephaniah 1:1-3:20 | Revelation 10:1-11 | Proverbs 30:11-14

Today’s Scripture Focus: Zephaniah 1-3

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” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).

Children know how to enjoy the moment. Imagine a beautiful sunny day. You stretch out your arms and spin around and around, laughing and singing–utter delight. Do you remember the delight of just spinning around and finding delight in the moment?

Such is the delight of God in his faithful remnant—the humble and meek. In sharp contrast to all the warnings of the day of reckoning for the proud that dominates the majority of the prophecy, here Zephaniah reminds us that those who are faithful to seek the Lord humbly are a source of great delight to the Lord. He takes great delight in them, he quiets them with his love and (my favorite part) he rejoices of over them with singing.

It has been suggested that the Hebrew root word here could be translated “spin around (with violent emotion).” The words, then, really do bring to mind the delight of a child spinning and laughing and singing at the top of their lungs–caught up in the delight of the moment. Take a few minutes today to meditate on his great love for you–and ask him to reveal to your heart how much he delights in you. Maybe you’ll even hear the song he is singing as he rejoices over you.

How good it is to know that when we seek the Lord our humble obedience causes him such great delight. Here are a few verses to meditate on concerning God’s delight in you:

The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love (Psalm 147:11 NIV).

For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with salvation (Psalm 149:4 NIV).

Father, I stand amazed that you delight in me. It brings me joy to know that you rejoice over your people with singing. May all I do today bring you glory and honor, and may it make you sing. Amen.