“For the Lord your God is living among you.

He is a mighty savior.

He will take delight in you with gladness.

With his love, he will calm all your fears.

He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

Zephaniah 3:17 NLT

 

It's time to think like a child!

 

We are children… God’s children, and this is one of those verses that reminds us of that wonderfully protected position that this Father/child relationship provides for us!

 

First—God our Father is with us; The King James Version says that He is in the midst of us! For Christians as a whole, it is uplifting to know that God is always with us and watching over us and providing for us and taking care of us. When we look at this verse as an individual, a child—WOW! Dad’s right here with ME!

 

Second—Not only is He always present and accessible, He is a MIGHTY SAVIOR. He is our protector. Don’t you love watching a small child walking with their dad? You can just see the confidence on that little one, knowing that they have no worries. Dad is there and can handle anything that comes along. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word savior as "one that saves from danger or destruction." That’s what God is to His children—One that saves from danger or destruction!

 

Third—We have the comfort of knowing He is always with us and that He is protecting us, but even more than that, He thinks we’re awesome! He delights in us with gladness. Have you ever seen the look of pure adoration on a father’s face? He looks at that little one, and it’s written all over him that his child just plain brings joy into his every-day life. That’s the way God looks at us. We've got a lifetime of days ahead of us, and we make Him smile!

 

Fourth—He’s with us; He protects us; He adores us… You’d think that was enough, but wait… there’s more! He loves us, and because He makes that known to us in no uncertain terms, our fears are calmed. Again, we need to think of that Father/child relationship. Picture this scene: A big strapping dad kneeling down on one knee in front of a frightened child. These are the words we might hear. “It’s okay. Daddy’s here and I love you so much. I would never let anything happen to you.” Isn’t it easy to envision the peace that would settle over that little one as they hug their dad’s neck? Yup, that’s the way it is with God and us!

 

Lastly—With all that’s been said, there is still one more word-picture that we can’t miss. It’s my favorite in this Scripture. I see a quiet joy, not a loud joy, in this verse. At the end of the day, when all is said and done, He sits at our bedside and sings us a lullaby. He sings with joy, and we rest peacefully knowing we have nothing to fear.