The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17
God’s heart is to rejoice over us with singing. His desire is to delight in his people and to sing over them with joy. This verse comes at the end of Zephaniah’s prophecies. It tells us where the world is heading after the judgments, destruction and desolation. When it’s all over, there will be peace, restoration and community.
But we’re not there yet. We still live in a broken world and there’s much that causes us grief. Yet God’s heart remains the same and even now we can bring him joy and cause him to sing over us.
We create joy when we repent, “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10). As well as the angels, the shepherd rejoices that he has found his lost sheep, the woman rejoices that she has found her lost coin and the father rejoices that his son is found (Luke 15).
As God’s children, we can bring him joy like his own Son brought him joy by living in obedience to the Father’s will. God says, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17).
We bring God joy when we don’t worry but trust in his care for us and depend on his provision when we live sacrificially and serve others. We bring God joy when we celebrate with other believers and live in harmony with them.
Let’s seek to bring God joy and rejoice with him.
