Zephaniah 3:17 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
This is one of those Bible verses that always stops me in my tracks. Each time I read it, I almost immediately get quiet and begin to introspect. My internal dialogue becomes interrogative. Do I really believe those words? Do I trust that God is in my midst? Do I really think that God actually rejoices over me? Am I really worthy of all of the singing and exaltation? I know what the answers should be. I know how I want to answer, but oftentimes, my response to these questions isn’t very positive or adamant. I struggle to see myself as someone who is worthy of being divinely rejoiced over. I often can’t see why God would want to be in my midst.
As I was reading over the verse and mentally rehearsing what I would write about, one line in this passage kept jumping off the page and grabbing at my attention. I absolutely love the thought that God will quiet me with His love. As I traverse through times in life that are difficult and make me question why God would waste time loving someone like me, I realize that it is that same love that quiets the storms and ferocious waves of the chaos that I am fighting through. The same love that I often feel undeserving of, and try to push away as a result, is what I need to cling to tightest.
Something that I have been repeating to myself a ton lately is the fact that God’s compassion and grace towards me is much deeper than I could ever fathom. God is in my midst, not because I feel deserving or worthy of it, but because God’s love is simply that vast. God’s willingness to save, rejoice, and sing isn’t dependent on me. Rather, it all comes forth from an endless supply of grace, love, and compassion.
If you find yourself wrestling with any of the same thoughts and feelings that I have described, my prayer is that we would trust the love that God offers, and in times when that is a fight, may the chaos be quieted. God loves you. God sees you. God hears you. God rejoices over you. God exults over you with loud singing.
