God Rejoices Over You

Scripture Reading: Zephaniah 3:14–20

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.

Zephaniah 3:17

In Holding to Hope, we reflected on the call to cling to God’s faithfulness. Zephaniah deepens that theme, speaking into a world where hope seemed fragile. Judah was spiritually compromised, its worship polluted, its leaders unfaithful. Assyria was collapsing, Babylon was rising, and the future felt ominous. Amid the shaking of empires and the unrest of kingdoms, Zephaniah announced more than judgment—he unveiled an astonishing promise. He dares to command joy—“Sing… shout… be glad!”—because God Himself steps into the center of their story: “The Lord your God is in your midst.” He gathers the scattered, removes shame, restores the broken, and—astonishingly—sings over His people. As Eugene Peterson paraphrases, “He’ll calm you with His love and delight you with His songs.” Holiness begins here: seeing the world not through fear but through the eyes of a God who delights in His children.

This vision of holiness is not remote or austere—it is the restoration of our full humanity. We learn to see as Christ sees when prayer opens our eyes and steadies our hearts. As James C. Fenhagen reminds us, “It is through prayer that we are caught up in the rhythm and energy of the Kingdom already among us.” Prayer is not an optional addition to life but the quiet space where God reshapes our vision and awakens us to His presence. Yet even as prayer draws us close, we remember that the Holy One we seek is both intimate and utterly beyond us. Elizabeth A. Johnson expresses this with clarity: “No human concept, word, or image can circumscribe the divine reality.” God is near—closer than breath—yet never reduced to our categories. In Advent, we hold both truths at once: His nearness that comforts us and His transcendence that humbles us.

Zephaniah’s promise waited six centuries before it burst into fulfillment. Advent reminds us that the God who declared, “I am in your midst,” took on flesh in Jesus—entering a world of empire, oppression, and political instability with redeeming love. Emmanuel came as the One who gathers, restores, and rejoices over His people. And His work continues even now. Zephaniah’s vision stretches beyond the first coming of Christ to the day when all nations will be gathered, every wound healed, and every shame lifted. Until then, we watch and wait with confidence: the God who sings over His people will finish His song in us.

Prayer

Lord Jesus,

As we continue this Advent journey of watching and waiting, open our eyes to see through Your eyes. Draw us into the rhythm of Your Kingdom, quiet our fears with Your love, and awaken us to the mystery of Your presence. Gather what is scattered, restore what is wounded, and help us hear the song You sing over Your children—yesterday, today, and forever.

Make us people who wait with courage, rejoice with hope, and walk in the confidence that You are mighty to save.

Amen.