Zephaniah 3:17 AMP
[17] “The Lord your God is in your midst, A Warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins], He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
The message in the verse above does not look like the context in which it was taken from. God has made it clear that He would abandon His people because of their sin and rebellion, which were very great. He had warned them consistently about their sins but they would not listen or heed the warnings. Of course, the just God would not just sit idly by and let His people desecrate His laws and go without punishment, in line with His express will. He has made it clear that the wages of sin is death, but He also promises a way out of the eternal consequences of sin through the blood of Jesus His Son. Let it be known today God has no favourites when it comes to sin, but He will punish sin, no matter in whom it is found. Israel is His treasured possession, yet when Israel sinned, the punishment was applied after several warnings were ignored. I do not want to test God's limit or patience when it comes to sin.
However, even in the face of the worst sin, the mercy of God is evident. Even though Israel had done wrong, we read here of God being in the midst of His people. He just would not let go, but would do all He could to restore the people back to Himself. Think of what it means for the God of glory, holiness, purity and grace to come and be in the midst of us. How would you prepare for such a God? Would you do it haphazardly, without any thought as to what the One coming would like to have and see? If you were preparing for a special guest of honour, would you do the usual, or go all out to please the special One? He is also introduced as the Warrior who saves, and He is the Man of War who is undefeatable. You are safe IN Him, and whatever comes will always lead to my eternal good. No matter how tough or rough it is now, I am comforted by the truth that it will not always be like that, but in God, my eternal rest is assured. What else can anyone give me that will top that?
The One who is with me rejoices over me with joy. Think of this: God's joy is made manifest wherever I am. That is awesome. His love is such that its presence cannot be denied. He will be quiet in His love by making no mention of my past sins. His love is such that walks and stays in when everyone else walks out. In and with Him, the past that has been confessed and handed over to Him is now forgiven and forgotten. He does not hold such grudges; He is not like mortal man who seems unable to let go of hurt. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He taken our sins away from us. He will rejoice over me with shouts of joy. The heavens and the earth will know that God is rejoicing. Why would He, unless I am giving Him reasons to? Am I fully submitted to Him, or are there areas that I am still holding on to? If I am to bring God joy, my life must have Him in it. Peace and joy feature as part of the fruit of the Spirit, so I cannot have Him and not have joy. I cannot have joy and still lack the manifestation of His power and presence. Do you have Him? God's time of favour is here.
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