"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 (NIV)
In 1697, the English playwright William Congreve wrote the oft misquoted line, "Music has charms to soothe a savage breast." You read that right. The correct word is "breast." And it's an apt word to describe many men right now. Their chests are beating hard with anxiety over the their jobs, their finances, their future. A savage breast is restless.
Perhaps you are restless too.
If so, Zephaniah 3:17 contains an important truth: God has a song just for you. "He will rejoice over you with singing." Now, before you write it off as just a pretty word picture, read the whole verse again and meditate on its truth; all of it:
- God is with you. How many times did Jesus remind his disciples that they did not need to fear because he was with them? In fact, Jesus' parting words, commonly known as the Great Commission, ends with "and surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
- God is mighty. Who more than the One who created all things, could rescue you from that which you fear?
- God will quiet you. His love for you will be peace in the midst of the storm. After all, He is the Prince of Peace.
- God will rejoice over you. He delights in you and it overflows into singing.
When our children were young and afraid of monsters hiding in their closets and under their beds, my wife and I would tuck them in with a prayer and a song. Each had their own song with lyrics and melodies we wrote just for them. In fact, we recorded a "Mommy/Daddy" cassette tape for each child with Bible readings, personal affirmations, and their song. Most nights after prayers, they would turn on their tape player to listen to their Mommy/Daddy tape, often rewinding it to listen again and again. Singing over them soothed their savage breasts.
Zephaniah 3:17 says that God does the same for us. As a loving Father, he comforts us with His presence and His voice. Unlike human parents though, He never parts. And unlike human parents, His voice never tires of singing. That's a good thing, because we never outgrow the need for comfort. There will always be a savage breast within us that can tamed only by His song.
What lyrics of comfort do you imagine Him to be singing about you?
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