Weekly Overview:
As children of the Most High God, we are to be marked by contagious, unceasing joy. Through the Holy Spirit we have access to an unending supply of joy that comes from the wellspring of restored relationship with our heavenly Father. God longs to fill us with his joy that we might live the abundant life Jesus died to give us. He longs to make us children fashioned in the image of our Father that we might share his unending joy to a world without hope. May you discover the greater portion of joy available to you through the Spirit as you encounter the heart of your Father this week.
Scripture:
“The Lord your 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.” Zephaniah 3:17
Worship:
I Love You by Vineyard Campbellsville
Devotional:
Zephaniah 3:17 provides a constant source of joy by revealing insight into the heart of our loving, present heavenly Father. That scripture says, “The Lord your 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.” As we look at this verse today, I pray that you will be filled with an abundant joy that can only come from a fresh, tangible revelation of your heavenly Father’s overwhelming love for you.
“The Lord your God is in your midst.” You can have joy today because your God is totally and powerfully present right where you are. Scripture says that he will never leave you or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6), his presence will go with you to the ends of the earth (Psalm 139:7-12), and at salvation you were made into a temple for the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). You can have joy because you are not alone in anything you do. God longs to make his presence known to you in every area of your life. He longs to do life with you—equipping you to live with total joy by filling you with his love every minute of every day.
“The Lord your God is . . . a mighty one who will save.” You can have joy because you have been totally redeemed from the destitution of the world that surrounds you. You are saved from the perils of life without relationship with your Creator. You have been offered to spend eternity with the God of love who laid down his own life for yours. Your God has done a mighty work. You are now his child, healed and set free through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
“He will rejoice over you with gladness.” You can have joy because your God rejoices over you. You are not a failure in his eyes. He loves who you are. He is wholeheartedly glad you are his. He longs to fill you with the knowledge of his gladness today. He longs to give you a revelation of how deeply in love with you he is. The Creator and Sustainer of all rejoices over you as his creation. You are not a mistake. You were made intentionally because your God longed to have relationship with you.
“He will quiet you by his love.” You can have joy because your God will shepherd you to the still waters. His love will guide you to quiet places where your heart can be at rest. He will calm the areas of your life that are burdened and stressed by freeing you with the depths of his affections. You can have peace today in the presence of your heavenly Father no matter what situation you find yourself in. Your God will “quiet you by his love” as you follow the leadership of his Spirit.
“He will exult over you with loud singing.” To exult is to be joyful or jubilant because of a triumph or success. You can have joy today because your God sees you as a triumph. You have been transformed. You are a new creation. You are what God has most desired in the earth. His chief longing has always been relationship with us, and by your faith in Jesus Christ you have given him what he has always wanted. God exults over you today just as you are. He longs for intimate relationship with you. He wants to give you ears to hear his “loud singing” that you might have the same perspective for yourself as he has for you.
In The Ragamuffin Gospel, Brennan Manning says, “My deepest awareness of myself is that I am deeply loved by Jesus Christ and I have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.” May you come to the awareness of how deeply you are loved by your God today. May you allow God to love what you have deemed unlovable in your own life. And may Zephaniah 3:17 be a foundation on which you experience the overwhelming joy that comes from God’s inexplicable love for you.
Guided Prayer:
1. Meditate on Zephaniah 3:17. Ask the Holy Spirit to highlight a part of the verse that you especially need today. Take time to allow Scripture to lay a foundation of truth on which you can have abundant joy.
“The Lord your 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.” Zephaniah 3:17
2. Ask the Lord to reveal his nearness. Rest in his presence and allow his love to quiet and flood the weary places in your heart.
“For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with abundant joy for today. Ask him to teach you how to live a joyful lifestyle where you experience the fruit of his presence through any circumstance.
“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” Psalm 147:11
In Scripture, we have a source of constancy and steadfastness for our emotions. If we will allow Scripture to be the basis on which we think and feel, we can experience a joy that is unshakable by the passing tides of circumstance. Scriptures like Zephaniah 3:17 are vital to a healthy emotional life. We need constant reminders of the truth so that we can base our emotions on who God is rather than what is going on with the world around us. May you enter into a new season of abundant joy as you allow God’s word to be your emotional source and guide.
Extended Reading: Zephaniah 3
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