Zephaniah 3:17

I get a daily devotional email from Proverbs 31 ministries. Today's devotional was based off of 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.”

The mom who wrote the devotional writes about her sons, and watching over them at night. How she likes to check on them while they are sleeping, and the joy that they bring to her heart. I could relate to just about every single word she wrote, but one paragraph in particular stuck out to me. She said, "Looking at their faces, I'd imagine the boys God was shaping them into. I'd whisper prayers for them to know Jesus and love Him with all their hearts. I'd ask God to calm their fears, fulfill their dreams, and establish their steps to walk in His ways." While I was pregnant I was pretty good at praying for Zack. I would be wide awake in the middle of the night, so I would pray, and beg God that the child in my belly would love Him, and would want to follow Him. Now that Zack is here, I am much worse at praying for him, even though I love him WAY more than I did when he was jumping around in my belly.

This devotional was a great reminder for me in so many ways. It's a great reminder that God is living among us, and that he delights in me (and Zack!) with gladness. Zack delights my heart in so many ways, and to think that he delights God's heart in all those same ways and in so many more is pretty hard to believe. With as much as I (and James!) love Zack, God loves him even more.

I've wanted to have a bible verse up on the wall in Zack's room, but with the zillion that are in the bible I was having a hard time coming up with just the right one. I think I've finally found it! It will be a great reminder for me to see this verse multiple times a day. As Zack grows, I hope and pray that he will know how much his parents, and more importantly, how much God delights in him, and loves him.