“He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
Have you ever felt that someone delighted in you? Has there ever been anyone who was thrilled to just be in your presence? Who smiled when you entered the room? The truth is that we have all been delighted in. We may or may not have experienced that from another human, but God delights in each one of us. He delights in you. In fact, this says He takes great delight in you. He’s pleased with you. He wants to hang out with you. You bring Him joy.
I just love the middle part of this verse. When’s the last time you’ve been anxious about something? Maybe your thoughts were running around the race track in your mind. Lots of mental activity that doesn’t get you anywhere. Or perhaps you’ve experienced a grief that seemed to have you in a pit so deep you would never again see the light of day. Your body felt as if it would break from the strength of your sobbing. Maybe you started believing the lies about how the situation you’re facing is too overwhelming and there’s no hope, no way out. So your mind runs even faster and you sob even harder. That’s when God steps in with His indescribable love and gently shushes you. He rubs your back or gently rocks you until the tears have stopped and the mind slows. The word translated as “quiet” means altogether silent. Instead of racing thoughts and emotions, we can experience complete peace. Peace beyond comprehension. All because of His great love for us.
The verse then seems to almost double back to the first part of the sentence. Because He delights in you, he rejoices over you. This is a song of joy, of great celebration. It’s almost as if He is so excited about you that He just has to let out a loud shout. That’s hard to comprehend, isn’t it? But it’s what scripture tells us. So the next time you think you’re a failure, or even a disappointment, read God’s word and revel in the fact that the King of the universe finds great delight and joy in none other than you!