My absolute favorite verse is Zephaniah 3:17.
"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 with singing."
Not only is this verse totally beautiful and aesthetically excellent out of context.... it is even MORE beautiful in context.
Basically, the book of Zephaniah talks about how God is destroying Jerusalem. The first 2.5 chapters describe the destruction that will sweep down on God's people and God's chosen city.
BUT
Starting at 3:14, the whole book turns around. It reveals the redemption and restoration that God offers to Jerusalem. While they will go through pain and destruction... God offers to be with them always. To be a mighty warrior fighting for his people (--which goes back to God fighting AGAINST us and FOR us). To delight in his people. To love them until they are silent. To sing over them.
I LOVE the word picture created by "quiet you with his love." Have you ever been around someone you feel completely, wholeheartedly comfortable with? Someone who you don't even need to speak with because they just understand already? Or been so upset, but with this person, words wouldn't even be necessary. They literally quiet you with their love.
God promises that.
What a beautiful picture of his overwhelming love for us. So much we will sit in awesome quiet.
God may be breaking me now and destroying all that I know, but he promises to be with me through it all. To carry me through my pain and my confusion. To quiet my tears and weeping with his unfailing love.
Read Zephaniah today. See whatchya think. :)
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Adding on to this::
I went and got coffee with my pastor last week. He talked with me about something that he recently heard at a conference.
Christianity can be defined as a 4-part timeline.
Creation--->Fall-->Redemption--->Restoration
However, some Christians soley focus on the Fall--->Redemption portion. They leave out that we were created in God's image. They express that we are sinful and God offers us grace... but don't move on from there. There is no restoration offered.
Some Christians just focus on Creation--->Restoration. They ignore the fact that we are sinful beings, and rather our goal as Christians is to restore the world to what it was at Creation.
But rather, Christianity needs to encompass all four of these things.
Creation--->Fall---> Redemption--->Restoration
We are created in the image of God. He wanted perfection for us, but offered us the freedom to choose for ourselves. We chose sin. However, that isn't the end of the story. God sent his son so that we may be cleansed of that sin and that we may see what it looks like to live a sinless life. God offers the promise of a new life-- completely, whole restoration in heaven. A place without sin, without pain, without suffering.
THAT is Christianity.
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