Rejoice

Zephaniah 3:17 - 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.

We've looked at our thoughts, struggling and wandering, joy, and God's love for us.  Our thoughts, if positive, are joyful, we are to rejoice in our struggles and certainly we are to rejoice in God's love for us.  What does God think of us?  Let's take a peek.

Our God delights in our salvation.  Angels in heaven rejoice when another sinner is saved.  It means another child in the Kingdom.  I picture what it must be like in heaven--rejoicing, rejoicing--because at any given moment on any given day another saved individual causes God and the saints and angels to sing.  I can imagine this is part of the happiness of heaven one will experience in addition to being in God's presence.

Jesus spoke of the shepherd who went out of his way to find the one missing lamb from his whole flock and how he rejoiced at saving it.  The father rejoiced over the return of his prodigal son.  Both of these instances symbolize God's love for us as sheep wandering aimlessly without our Shepherd or having left our Father for worldly desires and humbly returning.  He is deliriously happy.

When one's heart has finally softened and opened up to God's mighty calling, He then can be in the midst of us.  He can set up His tabernacle within our hearts.  This thought alone would be worth a song of praise to our God.  It gives even more meaning to the phrase "I in Him and He in me."  He will never leave you nor forsake you.  He will stick closer to you than a brother.  His love endures forever.  And since all this is true there is something wonderful for us to also rejoice in.

He delights in our godly accomplishments, our obedience, our prayers, our rejoicing in Him.  He takes pleasure in our worship.  No wonder it is said that God is love.  His delight comes out of His love over our delight of His love.

John 15:11 - These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, 

and that your joy may be full.

Lord, we are thankful that You drew us closer so we could partake in Your joy through our salvation.  I thank You that You cared enough.  When our joy shows I believe we are ultimately showing off Your delight.  Help us to develop that love and let us continually rejoice for what You have given us.  In the name of Jesus, equip us that we might share Your joy and love with others so they might experience first hand Your jubilation!  Father God, I pray that if there is someone who desires to know the love of You, our Father, I ask that You would open their hearts to receive You into their lives.  Let them desire to see You as the Shepherd who would go after one lost sheep.  Let them identify with the son or daughter whose Father welcomes home, with open arms, his lost child.  Our earthly fathers are one thing, but our Heavenly Father is all we'll ever need.  He and all of heaven desires to rejoice over that one person who decides to become a child of the King and an heir in His Kingdom.  In Jesus' name....Amen.