Day 15 - Where Does God Find Joy?
- Pastor b.Side
- Feb 15
- 3 min read
The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet [you] with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing. - Zephaniah 3:17
Where does God find joy? We don’t have to speculate; the Bible tells us. God rejoices over His people. However, understanding the true nature of God’s people, His work in them, and the results of that work helps us know why God rejoices and sings over His people. It’s not because we’re awesome…
The perspective that Zephaniah 3:17 provides about God is amazing! However, we also need to consider how Zephaniah Chapter 3 begins. The prophet wrote about Israel’s disobedience, stubbornness, unfaithfulness, and foolishness. Most of the Book of Zephaniah details God’s warnings of the impending judgment, especially in the last days. It’s filled with examples of Israel’s sins and also the sins of their enemies. It’s a book where God demonstrates that the whole world is guilty of offending Him and teaches about when God will intervene to address it.
“He will rejoice over you with gladness…”
Knowing this, it should be clear that the people God rejoices over aren’t deserving of such treatment. Why would God rejoice over those who do not obey Him? Why would God sing over individuals who reject His correction? All the insights God provides about His coming judgment indicate that He is not pleased with such people. The full context of Zephaniah Chapter 3 teaches that God is eager about His work to transform people’s hearts. God does not rejoice over people in their current state. He delights in His work to save individuals from sin, death, and hell.
“He will quiet [you] with His love…”
How does this work? The verse states that God will be in the midst of His people. The physical presence of God purifies the hearts of those who believe in the testimony of His Word. The Mighty One saves the souls of corrupted individuals who confess their sinful condition and turn to God for help, as His Word instructs. God’s salvation brings Him joy. He rejoices over His work to save and purify sinners. God sings over the souls of those who repent and believe in the testimony of His love because He rescues those souls from hellfire and transforms them to reflect His righteousness and glory. God does not rejoice over people in their natural condition. God rejoices over the work He performs to supernaturally transform them into the image of His Son through the indwelling of His Spirit. Now THAT’s praiseworthy! That’s God’s love. That’s worth singing about. God rejoices over and sings about the manifestation of His own love.
Prayer for today
Our heavenly Father, we’re thankful for Your promise to physically “dwell in our midst.” We believe in the testimony of Your Word, which promises that You will save those who confess their sins and believe in the truth about Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah, taking up residence in them and changing them. Jesus is the Mighty One who saves. We know that His work to purify our souls brings You joy. The indwelling of Your Spirit inspires You to sing over us. Help us to humble ourselves, remembering who we are without You. Help us to bring You joy by allowing You to change our speech, actions, attitudes, and perspective. We recognize that the happiness You find in us is only because of Your presence within us. Still, we are thankful and ask that You help us today to express that gratitude in everything we do. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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