My wife Pam and I have been members of a number of churches in our fifty two years of marriage. Some have been very liturgical, following a written liturgy. Some have been very exuberant, with shouting and singing and dancing. All of them have been focused on worship and praising God, for Who He is and what He's done. I love to rejoice in the Lord, don't you? You may not realize it, but that rejoicing is a two-way street. God loves to rejoice over us, too. Jesus said in Luke 15, that there's more joy in Heaven over one sinner that repents than over ninety nine sinners who don't need to repent. Think about that for a moment. Heaven is already a joyful place. What’s it like there when someone repents! Today's passage gives us more insight into God's joy-filled life, so let's listen to it:

For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zeph. 3:17 )

As much as we like to gather with other believers to rejoice and sing songs of celebration to God, in today's passage we learn about His delight in us. What a delightful word-picture: God living with us, delighting in us, calming our fears with His love, rejoicing and singing over us. What a happy way to think about God! He's not worried about our constant waywardness. And He’s not worried the messes we create for ourselves. He's watching over us in love, singing a song that all of Heaven can hear, working out all things for our good in spite of ourselves. Today, God's not scratching His head trying to figure out how to help you. He's rejoicing over you with joyful songs...and that is very Good News!