When my husband is in a good mood, he often makes up little songs on the fly and sings them when he’s puttering around the house. They are usually off key and rarely rhyme for correctly, but I love hearing them because it means he’s happy, which makes me happy, and the songs are frequently about how much he loves me.
Apparently God enjoys singing too. And He likes to sing to express His delight in His people.
Like my husband, God does this when He’s in a good mood.
In today’s verse, God had been angry, and rightfully so, but Zephaniah is prophesying about the time when God will be in a good mood again. God’s people had been rebellious, cruel, and selfish, and had rejected their God outright. And after a long time, God ran out of patience and punished them.
Thankfully we see that God didn’t stay angry forever. His true nature includes joy and delight, forgiveness and blessing. He wants to sing about how much He loves His creation. So after a time, He forgave His people, restored them, and once again delighted over them in song. This return to favor had nothing to do with anything God’s people did. They were still treacherous, unreliable, and sinful. But God was done being angry. He was ready to give them yet another chance to be good, loving, generous, kind, and humble.
What a comfort it is to know that God wants to delight in me and sing over me and bless me! And although there may be times when I must suffer from the consequences to my sin, those times won’t last forever. God won’t abandon me to my poor choices. He is waiting to forgive me and sing once again.
Dear God,
I hope that one day I can hear the songs you sing when you delight in me. I’m sorry for all the times when I am not delightful at all. Show me when I am doing things that stop you from singing. Teach me to stop and change, to repent and seek your will again.
CamDevo 