This is How God Feels About you!

I want to point out a passage in Scripture that has the potential
to blow your mind!
There in the back of your mind
where you believe
you are managing to manage your mind
day by day
as you struggle through the ‘not-so-soft season’
that you seemingly see no end to…
The deep recesses of your heart
darkened by the darkness of the day
that seems stuck in night…
where disappointments shuffle to the forefront
of your mind when you wake after a night of unsettled sleep.
but once you grasp this truth and embrace it
and let it sink into your soul
it will revive your spirit and radically transform
your relationship with God.
This Scripture should be the screensaver in your mind
that you can frequently find
and hold onto the truth it holds
when other thoughts attempt to bully and bombard you!
This radical statement contains the truth
of how your Heavenly Father really feels about you…

It’s the John 3:16 of the New Testament
revealed and broken open in the Old Testament
where the God of Heaven comes to our rescue
ransoming us and returning our hearts to Himself unharmed
–a safe refuge.
I’m referring to the revelation of
Zephaniah 3:17
One of the most beautiful passages in the Bible
‘The Lord your God is with you,
He is mighty to save
He will take great delight in you
He will quiet you with His love
He will rejoice over you singing joyful songs’.

We need to take a fresh look at our Father
with these five powerful truths …

God is WITH you
[IMMANUEL MEANS GOD WITH US]
We have His Precious Presence in our lives
He is really living life with you
living where you live, working where you work
feeling what you feel…
The whole message of this particular passage
and the whole Bible is that
God is close.
This is what we need to receive into our heads and hearts
He is your God
He protects you from plagues and problems
that you aren’t even aware of.
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
He is close
He is near
He is here.
He will be with you
always.
He is with you in all the details, difficulties, disappointments
and frustrations you feel of just living life
in all the carrying and caring you do …
He is with you to strengthen and support you.
He is not just watching you, but watching over you,
and walking with you through life.
Nothing can separate you from His love.
You can be confident, brave and bold
like a little shepherd boy
named David who conquered a giant
because he knew God was much BIGGER than the giant he faced…

When you reach the end of your red rope
or feel trapped at the side of the Red Sea
as an enemy advances towards you.
You can know and be assured and reassured
that He will not leave you as orphans – He is always with you
nothing can separate you from His love.

Not only is God WITH you
but God is FOR you
-not only do you have His Presence but you have His Power.
He is mighty to save- the Mighty One Who has and will save us
even when you feel you are in a battle you think you can’t win
facing struggles with your spouse or someone else
weighing the weight of what heartache and hurt
you need to be saved from
don’t be tempted to try to save yourself out of your situation
-you are not your saviour – Jesus is.
He doesn’t want you to face these giants in your mind alone,
He wants to exert His almighty power to save you
-you don’t have to spend your emotional energy fighting in futility.
In Psalm 34,
He says ‘the Lord is near to the broken hearted
and He saves those who are crushed in spirit’
He saves freely, fully and finally
He saves you from sin and self.
He is a Mighty Warrior who fights for us
so we can be saved and safe
and free
because if God is for us
who can be against us?
We see this clearly on the cross where Christ our Kind King
hung and sacrificed Himself for us
to provide provision and protection for us
We see the great lengths and depths
He was willing to go to defeat our enemy
He gives us this assurance.
We may fight many battles in life
but the battles are not ours
because the battle belongs to the Lord
and it is a ‘fixed-fight’
as He stands strong for us
we are assured that the outcome has already been determined.
-He both overcame and overcomes our enemies
He is in the midst of His people casting His arms around us like a shield
He is fighting with us and fighting for us!

What does it do to your heart knowing
He is on your side and He is for you
that Jesus has already won the victory!?

He is WITH you and FOR you
but also delights in you with great delight
He doesn’t just love you but He likes who you are
delighting daily in you, His child.

Then the picture beyond belief that blows me away
with Almighty Holy God of Heaven
is the look crossing your Heavenly Father’s face
when He sees you is JOY!
Don’t believe the lie of the enemy
that God frowns on you
He rejoices over you with gladness!
Is 16 vs 49 says
‘I have engraved your name on the palm of my hands’
right next to the nail-scars.

The Scripture quickened to me
when I was told that I couldn’t have children
was for me to delight myself in Him
and He would give me the desires of my heart
but in this truth, the tables are turned
-it’s so easy to delight myself in Him knowing He delights Himself in me
because of what Christ did on the cross.

God is WITH you
God is FOR you
God takes great delight in you
God quiets you with His love
and calms ALL your fears, giving you peace.
If you are ever going to have a sense of peace in your heart
you have to ground yourself in the assurance that God loves you…
Nothing you can do
can make Him love you any more
or any less
a picture of perfect contentment…
a picture I can relate to watching my precious daughter sing
each of her little ones their special song to sleep…
calming them before bed making them feel safe and secure
but mostly and mainly loved.

God is love
His love never fails despite our failings
It’s the passionate longing of a Heart that is intensely passionate about us.
I can have peace when I know I am loved by God
not based on performance;
we do want to do the right thing but at times
our sinfulness and selfishness stops us from doing what’s right
or righteous.
If you know God and know this truth to be true
you can experience
His peace that passes all understanding in any situation
-peace in your hearts
-peace in your lives
resting in the assurance that God still loves you
and always will love you
no matter what
God will rejoice with the greatest of joy
over you
with loud singing
not lip syncing!
He celebrates our lives with exuberance!
The Hebrew word for rejoice is to ‘spin around with great gladness’
so it becomes easy to dance with Him
as I am secure in His arms
smiling as He leads my life..
This is the Joy of the Lord Who is my strength!

Acknowledgement to Pastor Fred Mcclure’s message

—
Brenda.ps23©