When God Sings

There have been many days lately where I’ve felt . . . well, inferior. I feel like, after 35 years of existence, I should have a little more on the ball than I do at the moment. I’ve been discouraged, lonely, tired, etc. I try to find things to give my spirits a boost, or my ego a jolt of self-esteem, but it’s too hard to do on my own.

Tonight, though, I came a cross a verse in the Old Testament that took me by surprise. While looking for something else entirely, I stumbled on the book of Zephaniah. The bulk of this book of prophecy is warning against the consequences of sin. This, I’m already aware of. I’ve screwed up enough to know that there are consequences when I make a bad decision, and I don’t need to be reminded of it, thank you very much. But towards the end of the book, the tone changes dramatically to one of hope.

One verse in particular caught my eye. “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” (3:17) Taken as a whole, this verse is a huge encouragement. Then I started to break it down, and discovered whole new levels of hope and confidence.

“The Lord your God is with you, . . .” God is with me right now. The One who’s running this whole universe is with me at this very moment. “He is mighty to save.” He is all powerful and faithful to save me from the crap that’s bogging my down (spiritually speaking, of course). “He will take great delight in you . . .” Great delight? In me? Why? Because I’m His kid, and He loves me for that reason alone. Not because I deserve it, necessarily, but because He chooses to. “He will quiet you with His love . . .” All my fears, all my insecurities, all my foolish, finite human thought processes will be stilled once I start to grasp the fact that He loves me and He’s looking out for me (see Jeremiah 29:11). “He will rejoice over you with singing.” This is the most incredible to me. Even in my most minor of successes, God will rejoice. Not just give me a pat on the back and a hurried “Atta boy,” but with a song! God singing about me. I’ve spent my life in church singing about God, but never once thought about Him singing about me.

I remember when I was a kid, my parents would always tell me that they were my biggest fans. And they were. They showed it every chance they could. Every piano recital, ball game, school play, they were right there, with the biggest smiles on their faces, beaming with pride as their only child was butchering Beethoven or trying to throw the ball to first base and somehow managing to hit the shortstop in the head. The point wasn’t that I was perfect. The point was that I was trying, doing my best, and that was what they were proud of.

I think that’s how God looks at me now. It’s not about how perfectly I can execute the Christian lifestyle. It’s not about getting the notes just right, or always offering the right advice. That’s all surface stuff. God’s concerned about the heart. We’re going to screw up. As long as we’re sincerely trying to improve and draw even closer to Him, then even through the fumbles and failures, God will still be in Heaven, singing our song, proud that, on the heart level, we’re still trying to be like Him.