Rejoice! Rejoice!

God is not human, that He should lie, not a human being, that He should change his mind.  Does He speak and then not act?  Does He promise and not fulfill? - Numbers 23:19

I find that verse from God comforting and encouraging.  How often we somehow reason that our God is incapable or unwilling!  We dare to appoint human characteristics to Him.  Our God does not change His mind, what He has said will stand forever, He acts upon His Word and He fulfills His promises.  How encouraging and uplifting this thought should be to us.  God is not man and He will not disappoint us.  We can depend upon Him in all things and we can trust in Him where we can't in man.

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.- Zephaniah 3:17

That same God who acts upon His Word has said that He is a Mighty Warrior who saves.  He saves us from our sin and works actively in us towards His character within us.  How do I imagine that the Creator of the universe and lover of my soul takes great delight in me?  It is so hard to grasp this concept when I most often do not even like myself, yet He takes great delight in me!  So much so that He rejoices over me with singing?  It seems so hard to accept.  But Jesus also commented on it in Luke 15:7 indicating that there is "rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents."  And the following story in Luke 15 of the Prodigal Son teaches us how the Father rejoices at our homecoming.

Our God acts upon His Word and fulfills His promises.  He takes great delight in us and rejoices over us with singing.  Our God.  The God who loves us with an unending and ever-bountiful love.  His love pours over us and He walks with us, around us, and within us.  How great a God and Savior we have!  

Rejoice!  Rejoice!  Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.