Verse of the Day

February 19, 2016

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 ESV

Devotion

We are never alone. We are believers in God and He is in our midst. Of course, the omnipresent God is everywhere within the created order. For believers, however, God is present in a special way. God dwells with us in our midst. God says, 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people' and He says, 'I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters' (II Corinthians 6:16;18). 

What does this mean for us?

For one, it means that there is a mighty God in our midst who will save us. It means that there is an almighty God in our midst for whom nothing is impossible (Luke 1:37) and it means that this almighty God is willing to save us. We have no reason to fear, then, because 'If God is for us, who can be against us?' (Romans 8:31). 

It also means that our almighty God will rejoice over us with gladness. God is not put out by being in our midst. It is not something that He resents and endures. He enjoys it. He enjoys being with us and He rejoices over us. The prophet Isaiah says, '. . . as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you' (Isaiah 62:5). It's good to know that our almighty God likes being with us. 

Further, it means that He will quiet us with His love. We are excitable creatures. All the cares and concerns of life can upset us. We are prone to fear and worry. Our faith tends to dissipate under pressure and we may emphatically express our fears and worries frantically. God, however, quiets us. He quiets us with His loving presence. Although our problems may remain for a while, His loving presence comforts us and quiets us down. 

Finally, our almighty God exults over us with loud singing. It is difficult to imagine an almighty God so elated about us that He jubilantly exults over us with triumphant joy and loud singing. That, however, is what our verse for today says about our God. 

It is a very good thing to have God in our midst.