The Joy of the Lordعينة

Rejoicing Over Repentance by Pastor Kris Miyake Lead Pastor of The Movement – Maui, Hawaii Scripture Zephaniah 3:17, “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Observation Have you ever known you were in trouble with your parents and afraid to face them? This is how the people of Judah must have felt after the 55-year reign of one of the most evil kings in their history, Manasseh. During his reign, Manasseh had rebuilt all the idols and temples dedicated to pagan religions his father, Hezekiah, had torn down and even participated in the human sacrifice of young children! Two years after he died, 8-year-old Josiah became king. The book of Zephaniah was written during this pivotal moment as a prophetic warning of the consequences that would occur over Judah if they did not return to God. However, he offers this glimmer of hope for them in the end: If they repent, He would not punish them in anger, nor would He reject them because of their past sins. Instead, God would greet them in gladness and joy over their return! Application Most of us understand that God’s love for us is everlasting, but did you know His joy over us is everlasting too? We tend to struggle with coming back to God when we repeatedly fail because we think God must be frustrated or angry with us, but nothing could be further from the truth. God not only accepts and restores you every time you come back to Him, but He absolutely delights in it too… no matter how many times! He takes great joy every time He forgives and longs for your return. This gives us great comfort and hope in knowing that whenever we mess up we can come back without fear or hesitation. If you have been struggling with wanting to come back to God or to give your life to Him, don’t wait any longer because nothing gives Him greater joy than reconciling with you! Prayer Lord, thank you that you not only love us enough to forgive us every time we fail, but You calm all our fears by rejoicing over us every time we return! Help us to realize that You take great joy in us coming back to You and to never feel like we are burdening You with our struggles. In Jesus’ name, amen. Reflection How does knowing that God rejoices in your repentance change the way you approach Him when you fail? How can you model God’s joy in forgiveness in the way you forgive others?