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Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you…He will take great delight in you…[he] will rejoice over you with singing.”
The above verse is one worthy of ongoing meditation. This short book in the Old Testament written by the prophet Zephaniah begins with God pronouncing judgment upon His people for their wicked ways. But later, there’s a significant shift. Better days are coming. Days in which God will rejoice over His people with singing.
The ancient Hebrew word translated “rejoice” in this verse finds it root in another word which is often understood as “to circle around” in a state of joy. Another way to say it is that in His excitement and profound joy for His people, God will dance around them.
Picture in your mind for a moment that this is how God sees you. You are His child. You are His friend. He is ridiculously in love with you. In fact, He’s so excited about you He desires to express that excitement by dancing around you. Now, picture in your mind how you may begin to see others as He sees them. What would it look like for you to express a high level of joy toward others.
READING & PRAYERS:
PHILIPPIANS 1:3-5, ZEPHANIAH 3:17 (also read the commentary notes in your Study Bible of choice.)
QUESTION: In what ways do you find it difficult to express joy toward others? How may God be inviting you to be joyful in and toward others?
DIGGING DEEPER: Each time you interact with somebody today, silently pray that God would reveal to you a way you can express joy toward them about who they are and how much they’re loved.
Take a Step: Practice listening to God by utilizing the One Minute Pause app at least twice a day.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, the thought of You circling or dancing around me in joy is something I cannot even imagine. Similarly, me finding and expressing that level of joy toward others is unimaginable. So today I simply pray that the unimaginable would become imaginable. Lead me to more fully see that all people have been created by You, in Your imagine, and for Your glory. And may this truth lead me to express joy toward them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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