404. God will Rejoice and Rest
Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.
The Lord lives among us, in our hearts, in our Christians gatherings, on our earth. This Lord who is near and dear to us is also mighty; He is able to do what He says He will do for us. For example, He will save. The interesting promise for us is that the Lord will rejoice over us. He will joy with singing. God enjoys us and He promises that will rejoice over us every day forever. This pleasant thought should be a part of our everyday faith. We give God pleasure and joy. He enjoys watching us, seeing what we do and decide. All children give joy to their parents (until they don’t), and so we give joy to God.
Hebrews 12:2: “(Jesus) for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.” What was the joy set before him? It was surely me, the one for whom He died. He knew that His suffering and death would forgive my sins and bring me justly to God the Father. Think of it: I bring joy to God; I, a human person, bring so much joy to Jesus that he was able to endure the cross. Jesus knew the end result of His death: my salvation. “There is more joy in heaven….”
The Lord rejoices over me when He sees that I make wise and good choices. God calls me His beloved son. But the good news is that the Lord also rejoices over me when I make bad choices and sin against Him. He still loves me unconditionally and He forgives me out of abundant mercy. And He is happy to do that because He likes me more than I can imagine. Mercy and forgiveness brings great joy. This is the “good news of great joy.”
Finally, in this promise the Lord will rest in His love. After God created the universe in six days He declared it “very good” and then He rested, comfortable and joyful with a job well done. Then after God redeemed us through the death and resurrection of Christ He declared it ‘finished” and then rested on a completed salvation. He can rest because He knows there is nothing more that can be done for our forgiveness, salvation and life. He will rest in His love. There is nothing left for us to do.