He will quiet you with His love...

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.
Zephaniah 3:17

This, to me, is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible. There is assurance in every word...

He is the LORD.
Your God.
He is with you.
He is mighty.
Mighty to save.
He takes delight in you.
Great delight.
He will quiet you.
With His love.
He rejoices over you.
With singing.

This was one of many verses we read during our Bible study this week (Priscilla Shirer's Discerning the Voice of God - I cannot recommend it highly enough!) and it's one I've loved for years but never fully committed to memory. So that's my plan for the next two weeks. To meditate, internalize, memorize - LIVE this verse. What a beautiful God!

I love words and reading different translations of the Bible always gives interesting insight into a particular verse. I especially loved the Amplified Bible translation of this verse, which goes deeper into the "quieting" of God.

"He will rest [in silent satisfaction]
and in His love He will be silent
and make no mention
[of past sins, or even recall them]."

So much of the time, it is my churning mind, worrying, rehashing or recalling past offenses or sins, that desperately needs quieting. What a beautiful, comforting picture of God's loving care and forgiveness. The Amplified Bible translation goes on to say,

"He will exult over you with singing."

"Rejoice" is defined as feeling and showing great joy and delight. The definition of "exult" goes a step further - it implies elation and celebration as the result of success! God is exulting, rejoicing over us with singing, because He knows the ultimate outcome of our lives - and He sees success in our future. Granted, this is not success by the world's standards, but success by His definition and on His terms. He is faithful. He is good. He is love. And He can be trusted with our lives! Live in this assurance!