The Lord your God wins victory after victory
and is always with you.
He celebrates and sings because of you,
and he will refresh your life with his love.
Zephaniah 3:17 (CEV)
This verse from Zephaniah jumped out at me the other night as I was ending my day. Thinking through each phrase, here is what the Lord highlighted to me:
~The Lord your God wins victory after victory
– He is undefeatable.
~and is always with you.
– He never leaves me to face anything alone.
~He celebrates and sings because of you,
– I bring my Father so much joy that He breaks out into celebration.
~and he will refresh your life with his love.
– As the giver of life (my life), His love for me is also the provision of my refreshing.
What a beautiful series of thoughts to dwell on as I drifted off to sleep. It has taken me a while, though, to believe any of these truths. As a young woman, I wanted to believe them but my short-sightedness – focus on my here-and-now experiences – questioned them…
~He’s undefeatable? Then why did that tragic thing happen?
~He never leaves you to face anything alone? Then why didn’t He answer you (the way you wanted) when you prayed?
~You bring your Father so much joy that He breaks out into celebration? He must have missed that big mistake you made.
~His love is your refreshing? Then why are you so tired?
How are we so easily entangled with lies when the Lord is so clear with His promises? Ah, welcome to humanity! Remember Adam and Eve, themselves, were also duped by the enemy when he simply questioned God’s word in the Garden. He didn’t accuse, he questioned. “Did God really say…” (Gen 3:1). I think that is one reason why it is so important to consistently remind ourselves of God’s truths – His word – His promises – His declarations – what He really says over us. They are the counterattack to questioning. The enemy’s and our own.
Yes, there are times when we don’t so easily see what the Lord is up to. It appears that He didn’t answer a prayer or forgot a promise. But the longer we walk with Him, we start to discover that sometimes His answer and graciousness toward us is His “no” and His protection might feel like disappointment. And let’s be honest, “no” and disappointment are not things that our humanity seeks out. We want what we want, when we want, how we want. Right? But our loving Father knows what is best for us and is willing to allow our disappointment in the short term to bring His promises to fruition in the long run.
Insert vision of a child with crossed arms and bottom lip stuck out in a big pout. Yep, that has been me! Anyone else?
So today, I just want to remind us of His truth. I want to remind us of His goodness. I want to remind us that He promises to complete what He has started – in each of us. Let’s remember that He always wins and is always with us. Let’s refresh our memory that He is beyond delighted in us. Let’s allow our holy imagination to think about what it looks like to see God singing and dancing because of us. Let’s allow time to sit at His feet and receive His refreshing love. Let’s dare to take our loving Father at His word. And let’s remind one another that….
You are adored.
You Are Adored 