Monday, December 5 (Suggested reading: Deuteronomy 30:9; Zephaniah 3:14-17)
It’s hard to picture the nativity scene without a lullaby being sung. In fact, most of our Christmas carols were written as lullabies for baby Jesus. Lullabies have been proven to have a soothing and restorative effect on infants and to strengthen the emotional bonds between the child and the parent/caregiver. But don’t think you can pipe some quiet music in the nursery and expect it to suffice. No, science has shown there is something about the human voice as the medium, with no instrumentation, that delivers the calming influence to a fussy baby. There is also research which suggests lullabies sung by expectant mothers are also effective in developing the mother-child bond, as well as lowering the stress of the birth process
Here in Zephaniah is a sweet passage of Scripture in which God longs for the day He can sing over us, where He can fulfill all the promises He has been longing to fulfill for His people. The prophecy itself is sweet and is a beautiful glimpse into God’s heart for us.
Often when we think of what it will be like to finally meet our Savior, we think in terms of what our joy will be like, how we will finally be able to see Him. But here we see that reunion from His perspective- how eager He is to be with us for eternity, how eager He is to finally rejoice with us in His presence.
Just as we long for the coming of Jesus, Scripture makes it very clear that He also longs to be united with us for eternity. Just as we are waiting for Him, He is waiting for us.
But more so than that, our God takes great joy in us. He loves us, He delights in us, and His heart so overflows with love for us that, as Zephaniah wrote, He rejoices over us with songs of joy.
This Road Home 