His love quiets your soul

The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. -Zephaniah 3:17

I've got to be honest, I never thought I'd be so attached to a verse in Zephaniah, but this is the reason why I'm reading through the minor prophets. I need these uncovered verses to jump out at me, but, of course, I believe this is the power of God's word.

I'm so thankful. Today God is with me like he was yesterday and will be tomorrow. He's God whom saves the dreaded sinner such as I, and he will continually rejoice with gladness over us as we seek him. His love quiets us. How will God quiet our worried, anxious, and nervous minds? With his love he will quiet us.

For a long time now, there has been a lot on my mind, but during this time I'm trying to stay focused on Christ. His grace, mercy, goodness, and love are immeasurable and great. I wish to sit in the shadows of the Cross all the days that I live in hopes to gain a better view from the front row of his majesty. How can I love thee more? How can I be closer to thee?

Yesterday I realized I might be perfectly content being able to read scripture all day long, but a closed room wouldn't be good enough so I'd need to be reading from the top of the tallest building just so I can be closer to God in Heaven. My God has brought me through so much in my life, much less the last few months, and I wish I could at least kneel beside him to give him the glory and praises he requires. The Almighty God, King of my soul, is the love that quiets my soul.

I recently had to tell a friend our contact should be minimal because I thought our close communication was distracting them from knowing God to the fullest. The conversation saddened my heart to know I'd have to eliminate our personal communication, but, no matter what the cost, Christ must always be magnified and sought first in our lives. This makes me think of Paul when he said, "For me to live is Christ and die is gain." Our lives must soak up Christ. But death does not frighten my main goals because death is only a celebration to be closer to Christ. While I know Christ is being exalted in our dedication to follow after him, I'm just praying for the time when I can rejoice with my friend again. When we talk again I know it will be full of joy and peace because it will be all God. Not just God's will, but our minds will be seeking His name. What is better? I choose to sacrifice today so we can rejoice in the future with Christ further magnified than he was before. O How he love us.

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all