God delights in you!

“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah is speaking into a moment where Israel had failed, wandered, and come under judgement. Yet right there, in the middle of correction, God reveals his heart. Not just that, he will restore, but how he feels while doing it. Our text says, “The Lord your God is with you…” that alone answers one of the deepest fears we carry, that God might withdraw when we fall short and that he never reaches out to us in our mess.

But he doesn’t. He comes near as “the Mighty Warrior who saves.” he is actively involved in bringing his people out of what has bound them.

David observes the heart of God towards us in Psalm 139:17–18, thinking about the much love that flows from the heavenly father, he says,

“How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with you.” WoW! Do you realise that God’s awareness of you is constant, not occasional.

In a parable, the gospel of Luke 15:20 gives us the clearest window into the father’s heart:

“But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.”

From the prodigal son father’s immediate words and actions when his son returned, we can see that he had been longing daily for his return.

WOW! The God of the universe who is infinite, holy, self-sufficient delights and rejoices over his people with singing. This is delight-love!

You were created as an object of God’s affection. The Bible shows that he eagerly yearns to do you good.

Zephaniah went further in chapter 3 verse 17 that God will rejoice over you…

“He will rejoice over you with gladness, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Actually, when you are convicted by God’s Spirit and unsettled, it is because God delights in you.
In Jeremiah 32:40–41, God’s promise to his people is clear:

“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from me.
Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good…” God is near. his strength saves, and his heart delights.

When you understand this, it changes how you come back to him. You do not come hiding, negotiating, or trying to earn your way in. Repentance is not stepping into the anger of God, but responding to the mercy of God. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance.

The question is not whether God will receive you, but whether you will believe what he has already shown about his heart.

“Or do you despise the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?” Romans 2:4

Lord God, thank you for revealing your heart in the scripture. Thank you that you are near, that you save, and that you delight in your people.
Forgive us where we have misunderstood you and seen you as distant. Help us to trust what you have shown, that your goodness leads us to repentance.
Draw us back by your kindness. And for those who are returning today, help them to come knowing your arms are open and your mercy is ready to receive them. In Jesus’name, Amen!
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Kay Alli