All Because Of You

September 25, 2015

All Because Of You

“Yahweh your God is there with you, the warrior-Saviour. He will rejoice over you with happy song, he will renew you by his love, he will dance with shouts of joy for you,”

Zephaniah 3:17 (NJB)

This morning I was reading a testimony of Saint Teresa of Avila. She had a personal encounter with Christ while receiving Holy Communion. Her vision was her personal revelation of Isaiah 62:5b, “Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.” I immediately thought of worship leader and song writer Dennis Jernigan and his interpretation of Zephaniah 3:17. First, here is Zephaniah 3:17 from the King James Version of the Bible:

“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.”

Next, here is Jernigan’s paraphrase of Zephaniah 3:17:

"The eternal self-existent God, the God who is three in one, He who dwells in the center of your being is a powerful, valiant warrior. He has come to set you free, to keep you safe and to bring you victory. He is cheered and He beams with exceeding joy and takes pleasure in your presence. He has engraved a place for himself in you and there He quietly rests in His love and affection for you.

He cannot contain Himself of the thought of you and with the greatest of joy spins around wildly in anticipation over you and has placed you above all other creations and in the highest place in His priorities. In fact He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing.

All because of you."

Do you honestly believe that God shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing, all because of you? I need to be reminded of this glorious truth of grace often. Even though I have embraced this wonderful affirmation, there are days when I don’t act like it is true. I yearn for the days when my life will be evidenced by an uninterrupted serenity and compassionate attitude toward myself that is a reflection of God’s own tenderness for me. Until then, I will often return to Zephaniah’s powerful affirmation. Today, join me and take time to rest in the wonder of God’s affection for you:

"He shouts and sings in triumph, joyfully proclaiming the gladness of His heart in a song of rejoicing. All because of you."

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com. The BLOG is also available on Amazon Kindle, by subscription.

Publications by Alex M. Knight:

·        Seeking the Life in Christ, Meditations on the New Testament and Psalms has been published and is now available at Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle.

·        The second edition of  First Think – Then Pray is available on Amazon Kindle.

·        Meditations on The Story of My Life as told by Jesus Christ has been released as an e-book on Amazon Kindle.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.