"He will rejoice over you with singing”

 (Zephaniah 3:17)

Have you ever explored this question: “How does God see me?”

If you have, then you may know that the answers are pretty astounding! And you are blessed! I personally wish that I had dived deeply into that question a lot earlier than I did.

The problem was that, largely unconsciously, over far too many years, I had been believing only certain parts of Scripture while effectively dismissing others. Not great! 

On the positive side, I had been living wholeheartedly in verses that refer to our salvation, and our death, resurrection and new life in Christ. And that is vitally important, of course.

However … I had been skipping over – or “reading without seeing” – a whole category of Scriptures that refer to God’s passionate love for each one of us, individually. And they are also extremely important for our Christian walk.  

So I had effectively been shutting out the more personal and intimate aspects of the Father’s love, and therefore stopping them from flowing into my life.

Looking back, I can see now that the underlying obstacle was my own pride. Humility lets love in; pride blocks it. 

The problem was that I lacked a heartfelt conviction (rather than just a mental assent) that God fervently loved me, personally, and that He delighted in ongoing fellowship with me – irrespective of my “performance” or “success” or behaviour or history.

From my many conversations and interactions with others over the years, I have discovered that this is a common problem for many Christians. That's why I decided to publish this article.

When I began to see the problem in my own spiritual life, I launched out on a search through the Bible for expressions of God’s specific, personal love for me, and for each one of us. I also did a study on this theme with a trusted friend, and that was a very helpful and supportive process for both of us.

Below are just a few of the Scriptures we collected and wrote down. If you would like to, I encourage you to find time step away from life’s busyness for a bit, and ponder some of these beautiful truths:

“The Lord your God in your midst … will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zeph. 3:17)

“He delivered me because He delighted in me” (Ps. 18:19).

“How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings” (Ps. 36:7, NRSV).

“the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,
 in those who hope in his steadfast love” (Ps. 147:11, NRSV)

“as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you” (Isa. 62:5).

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jer. 31:3).

“His banner over me is love [waving overhead to protect and comfort me]” (Song of Solomon 2:4, AMP).

“You have ravished my heart with one look of your eyes” (Song of Solomon 4:9).

“I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me” (Song of Solomon 7:10).

“Set me as a seal upon your heart,
As a seal upon your arm;
For love is as strong as death” (Song of Solomon 8:6).

 These are utterly wondrous Scriptures, aren’t they! It is powerful to personalise these, pray them back to God, and talk with Him about them. Even meditating upon just one or two verses, on a regular basis, can lead to a profound and life-changing experience. I found that doing this has made a significant and lasting difference in my own heart.

I love this phrase: “True humility is to agree with what God says about me.”

As our hearts come increasingly into agreement with what God says about us in the Scriptures, we open ourselves – more and more – to receive and experience the blessings that He has already provided for us.

In this way, we can live increasingly in everything that God intends for our life, so that our lives are not only more fulfilled, but they can become testimonies of hope to everyone around us.

By Ann Shakespeare   20 April 2022

All Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise specified.