The Lord delights in you and sings over you.
Sometimes we try to put God in the same category as a parent or friend that has hurt you, or is angry with you; that every time we make a mistake, He marks it down and never forgets. That somehow He's out for revenge.
God doesn't think anything like that. His thoughts are not your thoughts, and His ways are not your ways. Isaiah 55:8 Do you think He does not already know you? It's not like you could ever surprise Him. He knows your every thought, even before you think it. He knew you and formed you in your mother's womb. Jeremiah 1:5 Not only does He know you, He knows exactly how many hairs you have on your head, and when just one falls to the ground. And not only does He know you, He desires that you know Him, too. Why? Because He has plans for you and your life. Jeremiah 29:11 - "I know the plans I have for you, saith the Lord. To help you, not harm you...to give you hope and a future." Now does that sound like someone out to get you? Hardly.
Many people believe He’s a grumpy old man who has to get His way, and that when He doesn’t, He will shame, guilt, and scare people to get them in line. Although most wouldn’t say it out loud, deep down, even many believers think of God as “the God who is out to get me,” that He is just waiting for us to "mess up", so He can meet His divine quota for punishing sin. Perhaps this comes from a particular teaching or from a bad experience with a church or a person, but either way, this is how many functionally view God. However, when we open the Bible, we encounter a very different God. The God who delights. The God who sings. The God who saves. The God who loves us all unconditionally. The book of John testifies to this.
He doesn't want formalities. He already knows us, we can't surprise Him. He just wants us to be ourselves. Talk to Him like we would any other friend, yet with Him, we can go even deeper into conversation, to a more intimate level, as we don't have to hide anything from Him. He already knows our deepest secrets, yet still loves and accepts us, just as we are. Unconditionally. He knows our good and bad parts, yet all He wants, is for us to come as we are, at any time, and talk to Him and invite Him into our hearts and lives. He just wants our fellowship. We can pray at any time, praise Him through song, or simply talk to Him. When my son comes to me with a problem or to say, "I'm sorry, mom, I messed up.", my immediate reaction is not to chastise or beat him, but to comfort and love him. So it is with our Heavenly Father, but so much more so.
The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love, He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. (Zeph. 3:17)
This is one of the most inspiring and encouraging verses that you will ever read—but not in a “power of positive thinking” way. To read this passage merely as an inspirational pick-me-up, would cheapen it and obscure its true meaning. To examine the passage as a whole, however, is to understand the depth of the song and the broader story of which it is a part.
The most beautiful pronouncements of God’s grace and love for us in all of the Bible, is John 3:16 - "For God SO loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life."
Whenever just one person accepts Jesus as their Lord and Savior, and turns from a sinful life to walk in new life with Him, and wants to live by His Word, all the angels in heaven rejoice and sing praises to God. Luke 15:7
Jesus not only said He loves you infinitely. He proved it, when He died on the cross for your sins and mine, so we may have eternal life through Him. Why the cross, and why the shedding of blood? Because without the shedding of blood by a pure, perfect and sinless sacrifice, there is no forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 9:22
