“The LORD you 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 NIV
The garden path today is one of colorful delight! Shades of deep
foliage surround delicate white and pink chrysanthemum. A bright red-orange
Bromeliad holds its head up proud and the cheerful deep pink Kalanchoe offers a
visual of delicate ambiance along the pathway. I hear the song of many birds
singing back in forth in a harmony understood only by them and their Creator.
My heart too is full of joy! Then in an unsuspecting moment fear begins to
cloud my mood. I am not worried about anything in particular just the unknown
of the future in general. In quick response I shoot up a quick arrow prayer to
God’s throne of grace. My words are simple, “Father, help me!” and he does.
Jesus reminds me that I must never forget that he is always good.
There will never be a circumstance in my life that will be void of his goodness.
In all that comes my way I must seek to recognize his goodness. I stop and lean
against the trunk of a beautiful red maple. I humbly bow my head, breathe in
the presence of my Creator and begin to soak up his love just as the flowers
soak up rain after a time of drought. As I begin to listen I hear in the
distance a song. It is a love song. It is now right above my head. I look up
into the tree and there sits the Master Gardener, perched on a limb. To my
amazement he is singing over me a beautiful song about his amazing love for me.
I know in this moment he is also rejoicing over me because of the twinkle in
his eyes and the smile on his face.
I close my eyes and I begin to listen. Every note is clear, mellow,
and beautiful! The lover of my soul has perfect pitch and impeccable timing. I
feel my shoulders begin to relax and I find that I am totally immersed as I
listen to the poetic lyrics as they flow like the sweetest of honey, as he
sings of his great love for me.
As I listen to his joyful, quick moving allegro and I am amazed at the
sure precision with which he sings. My sweet Savior never misses a note or
a beat. As he continues to sing his words of love he escalates into the loudest
crescendo of love that I have ever heard and then gradually decrescendos into
the softest melody of care and concern for me and all that concerns me.
My Lord sings above the heights of an Irish tenor and below the depths
of the deepest bass in a gospel quartet. I am reminded of how high and deep
the Father’s love is for me. This endless song goes on and on. The refrain is
always the same, “I have loved you with an everlasting love”. Yes, today I hear
it loud and clear. Oh, that I would hear his song everyday!
My time in the garden today has been extraordinary! When I reflect
on what the Holy Spirit has taught me today I am feel deeply loved. Trusting God is an awesome way to live. I know
that his word is true because my God cannot lie. “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 NIV Because I belong to him, he takes great
delight in me and rejoices over me today and everyday with singing. Even on
days with my needs are great, my faith is weak, and my thoughts, deeds, and
words are sinful, he is the same. My faithful God is always above me singing of
his love for me. He is my hope for today and all my tomorrows.
Questions:
- How does it make you feel to know that God rejoices over you with singing?
- Are you willing to listen to his love song?
- Will you take time today to sing back to him a happy song of praise and worship that is full of your words of love and gratitude for all he has done, is doing this day, and will ever do for you?
Dear Lord,
Today my prayer is simple. Thank
you for the amazing gift of your beautiful, encouraging love song. Forgive me
when I become so self-absorbed that I forget to listen for your song of love.
Lord, you are marvelous and greatly to be praised because of your everlasting
love. How wonderful it is to realize that every day you rejoice over all your
children with singing.
