Renew my thinking of You.
Zephaniah 3:17 AMP
“The LORD your God is in your midst, A Warrior who saves. He will rejoice over you with joy; He will be quiet in His love [making no mention of your past sins], He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.
Renew your Thinking.
We all have a picture of God in our minds, but sadly, for most, our misguided internal compass is steering us away from Father God and not closer. We see Jesus as our hero and savior; the Holy Spirit is our gentle guide; but God we always see as fiercely angry and ready to reprimand. Our outlook defines our relationship with Him and our daily walk in this life.
Yes, God is a warrior, but when he looks at you, his heart leaps with joy. When he looks at you, he does not think of all your wrongdoing; He only sees you because He is in love. Strangely, this verse mentions Joy twice. If God is all about being unhappy and a warrior all the time, why would he rejoice over you?
Our little one is sometimes so busy and just downright destructive and brings out the blood fury of my ancestors, and even if I really don’t want to be strict and reprimand her, I have to step in and set things right—it’s my job. That’s what fathers do—they love everything they are, but fathers also need to correct as well. If I don’t love, I don’t correct. She can be a handful, and I pray for bedtime to come. But when she comes out to greet me the next morning, my heart skips a few beats. I forgot all the troubles of yesterday and only see her! I just love her.
Basically, everything Christ has done on the cross is null and void if we don’t believe God is a good father. This must change, as everything Jesus did was at the request of the Father. Jesus said, If you see me, you see my father. [John 14:7-11]
If you love Jesus, you can also confidently love Father God. Remember who sent Jesus [John 3:16]. Remember that Jesus died on the cross, so you can see the Father.
Father, thank you for your free gift of love. Thank you for your Son. I am sorry for my years of disbelief and confusion. Please forgive me.
Lord, take this heart of stone; I don’t want it anymore. Heal my broken understanding of love. Please, give me a new kingdom heart. I surrender all!
In Jesus’ name. Amen!
