When God Sings Over You
Not long ago in the darkness of night, I sang over my daughter. Not because she had accomplished anything remarkable or because she did anything to deserve it. On the contrary, I sang over her because she was sick. I smoothed her hair, held her close, said a prayer and sang a song as my husband cleaned vomit off the floor.
As I sat on the bed, holding her close I was reminded of Zephaniah 3:17, which says He rejoices over us with singing. I’ve always loved that verse; the picture of God singing over us has always been a tender, intimate image. Yet that night, with vomit at my feet, I suddenly understood the verse in a whole new light.
My daughter had nothing to bring that night, nothing to offer me, nothing to give apart from her broken, sick, vomit-scented self. There was no cause for celebration or song, and yet I sang over her simply because I love her and she’s my child.
And this is the same way God promises to sing over us! Zephaniah 3:17 follows verses in which God is detailing Israel’s brokenness and disobedience. Zephaniah 2:7 says: “But they were still eager to act corruptly in all they did.” Israel had NOTHING to bring that was cause for song. In fact, on the contrary, their corrupt actions deserved rebuke and discipline … certainly not rejoicing. And yet, GOD, in his great mercy and faithfulness restored Jerusalem, removed her punishment, and rejoiced over her with singing!
That night as I sat with my daughter, singing over her sickness and her emptiness, I realized that this is what Zephaniah 3:17 looks like in our own life. We come to God in our sin and our filth and brokenness with our tattered rags and our disobedience and our vomit-scented selves, and even then … especially then … He restores us and rejoices over us with singing!
We don’t need to clean ourselves up. We don’t need to mend our tattered rags or pick up our mess. We don’t need to reassemble the broken pieces or cobble together the shattered parts. His singing over us isn’t dependent on ANYTHING we do or anything we bring. Instead, He sings over us simply because we are HIS, and He loves us.
I don’t know about you and your circumstances. I don’t know about your mess or your broken parts or your shattered pieces. But I know this: the same God who sent His son to die on the cross for YOUR sins is the same God who rejoices over you with singing just as you are simply because HE LOVES YOU!
You are His, and He is singing. I pray you have ears to hear His song today!
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