“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)
Reflection:
I remember very clearly God showing me something one day when my granddaughter came to play. Actually she came mainly to sleep, until hunger pains awoke her. She was 8 weeks old and my job was to keep her asleep until it was the right time for her to wake up! I held her in my arms as I mulled what I was doing on the computer, and spent quite a lot of the time watching her face, and the movements of her hands and arms. She stirred at one stage and lay looking at me, so I talked to her and even ‘sang’ softly. She just lay and listened. After a while I played her Susan Boyle’s lovely version of ‘Silent Night’ which is on my computer, and she drifted quietly off again. They were precious moments – almost an hour of them. In a way I was also taking great delight in her, quieting her with my love and rejoicing over her with singing.
We don’t often think of God doing such things with us – treating us as His beloved children – and yet they are both hinted at and referred to in Scripture. The whole Bible is an account of God’s great love, and His continual reaching out for a relationship with the people He formed to be His own. The life and message of Jesus is one of wonderful love, compassion and ministry, and His interaction with people in need is heart-warming.
If I, as a human father and grandfather, can enjoy such moments with my daughters and granddaughters then it is an indication of the love and intimacy which our heavenly Father wishes to have with His children. He said to me once, commenting on the actions of my own daughters, “Your children don’t have to ask your permission to sit on your lap, and lean against your heart. They know that is where they belong and it is, therefore, their right. Just so, My children belong on My lap, leaning against My heart and with My arms around them.”
As grown men and women we can look upon such things as childish – and yet so many of us long spiritually for just such moments of love, intimacy and comfort.
- “Come to Me” says Jesus, “all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
- And God also says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 40:10) – your God and God of all the situations in your life.
Response:
Ponder and pray these wonderful promises, until they become a part of your belief and relationship with our wonderful Father. Trust Him and His breathtaking love.
Prayer:
Father God, please help me to let You love me, to trust Your love and to rest in Your love. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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The Soaring Eagle 