“HE REST!”

Me-Maw Thoughts

Number 612

January 3, 2023///

There is a portion of scripture in Zephaniah that I want to zero in on today!

Zephaniah 3:17 (KJV)
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; HE WILL REST IN HIS LOVE, he will joy over thee with singing.

I stopped short at the phrase I have capitalized. “He will rest in his love”! I pondered that because it sounded strange that The Lord would rest in His love! I looked at another couple of versions of that phrase!

Zephaniah 3:17 (AMP)
The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; HE WILL REST [IN SILENT SATISFACTION] AND IN HIS LOVE HE WILL BE SILENT AND MAKE NO MENTION [OF PAST SINS, OR EVEN RECALL THEM]; He will exult over you with singing.

Take a look at that part of the verse in the Amplified. Our God’s Love is so vast and so amazing that He can rest in the fact that His Love is enough. He does not even recall our sins!

The New King James version has that portion as: “HE WILL QUIET YOU WITH HIS LOVE”!

Let me back up on the event this is taken from. The children of Israel in Jerusalem had forsaken the God who delivered them and fought for them and mixed other idol worship and participated in evil. But a remnant had repented and turned back to the true and living God and He had restored them.

Now the Mighty one was rejoicing over them with Joy and with a Love that truly forgives and forgets!

That same Lord God in in the midst of us. He can rest in the abundance of His Love to restore and wipe out all the mistakes, wrongs, and mess ups in our lives.

Another part of that scripture says, He sings over us with Joy! Can you comprehend that? The creator God, who created everything Loves us so much he eradicates our sins and sings over us!

I do not know what that does to you, but the thought of the Lord God Almighty singing over me with Joy and Love thrills me from head to toe. We are cherished. We are the apple of His eye.

This scripture is found in the Old Testament when they were looking forward to the Messiah, who was Jesus Christ. We have Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit to guide us and in addition to that we have a Heavenly Father who rest in His love and sings over us! As He rests in His love so should we.

When life makes us fretful and anxious, we can rest in His unconditional love and cast all that care on Him and hear that powerful voice deep inside, singing over us!

I think of Mary, Jesus’ mother, who had been told by Gabriel Jesus was the Son of God, but as she held him and felt a mother’s love flow from her to this baby in her arms could she really comprehend that it was His Love that would free her from all guilt, worries, and condemnations.

As she looked into the face of the child in her arms, perhaps she sang the Psalms over Him, such as “I will Bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth”, or “Bless the Lord, oh my soul and all that is within me Bless His name”! Maybe she did this not even considering she held the essence of the music of heaven and the pure expression of God’s love in her arms.

I wonder if we realize who we are created to be as the Lord God Almighty rest in His love for us, knowing through Him we are enough!

What do you hear being sung over you! Perhaps this is the song: “I love you with an everlasting love that knows all, hears all, and can do all”!

“Oh, love of God, how rich, how pure, how marvelous and strong.”! Oh, we cannot fantom the height, breadth, and dept of His Love!

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Father, in Jesus’ name I come! What an amazing thought that you are resting and confident in your love for us, not in our love for you. We can truly love only as we allow you to love through us, and we can follow your example and rest in your love for us! Your love never fails, never quits, and never gives up on me! May each person who reads this comprehend the enormity of your love for your creation, those into whom you breathed the breath of life! I praise you, Lord! Amen!

Rest in His Love!

Love, MeMaw