Day 31: God’s Love Rejoices Over Us
Zephaniah 3:17
Zephaniah starts this passage by emphasizing the presence of God in our lives. It is a pretty special feeling knowing God wants to be with us. Zephaniah wrote this passage to reassure the faithful in Israel that they have not been forgotten but rather have been remembered in love by God Himself. Do we sometimes feel forgotten? Alone in our work in the world? Sometimes, God’s presence does not feel close. This is an important reminder that we serve a God who loves us so much that He chooses to be in our midst.
Zephaniah goes further and says that God is not just with us, but He will fight for us victoriously, love us personally, and be exuberantly joyful about that love. When we are alone, defeated, fearful, and sad, Zephaniah reminds us that our God has come to reverse each of these with His love. We are no longer alone when we are in His presence. We are no longer defeated as we share in His victory. We no longer know fear when we feel His love. We are no longer sad when we share in His great joy. What are we struggling with today? Whatever it may be, God has come to relieve our burden with His great love for us.
Reflection Prayer
Lord, we thank You for being a God who loves us. We thank You for not abandoning us to ourselves but offering Your love that covers all our inadequacies. When we stray from You in the future, please forgive us and bring us back with Your great love. Maranatha. Amen.
Week 5: The Love of God
The Beatles famously said, “All you need is love.” The reality is that this statement is truer than most realize, but our understanding of love is limited—it is often dependent and conditional. That is not the love that people need; instead, we need true love.
God’s love displayed in Scripture and experienced in our lives goes beyond the love we know and experience on a daily basis. 1 John 4:16 says, “God is love.” Love is who He is; it is His character. He came to this earth to display this perfect love, to show Himself, and to provide an opportunity for all of us to experience what we long for—love.
Consider Romans 5:8: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
“All we need is love,” and the good news is that love is given to us in Jesus Christ.
— Jim Sappia