How Deep The Father's Love for Us

I found something really cool in my reading yesterday. One of my favorite verses is Zephaniah 3:17. "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."

I just wanted to remind myself of his love, and was looking that verse up in some different translations.

But I noticed something new that had not occurred to me before. The term "mighty one" in the Hebrew ("gibbor") is like the equivalent of a mighty champion or warrior. I imagined a little boy boasting to another kid, "my Dad's tougher than your Dad!!!" God is like our ultimate superhero!!!!

Yet in the same verse, it speaks of his incredibly gentle love, like a mother consoling her child. That reminded me of Ps. 131:2 "But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." Every time I read that verse, I imagine climbing up into God's lap, leaning against His chest and snuggling up into the security of His presence.

I can see similar images in these other verses:

Isaiah 49:15-16 "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me."

Isaiah 40:10-11 "Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young."

God has all the loving qualities of both a father and a mother. He is EVERYTHING we need. "Great is our Lord, and abundant in strength; His understanding is infinite." (Ps. 147:5) All human friendships will fail us. Even our most primary and intimate relationships will fall short. But Psalms 27:10 promises, "For my father and my mother have forsaken me, But the LORD will take me up. "

When I hear that last verse, I always think of our kids from the Children's Home. The parents were supposed to love, nurture and protect them, but failed miserably. In most cases, it was their Mom or Dad who inflicted such deep pain on their young lives. Those little ones were abused, abandoned and neglected.

But in spite of these injustices, God promises that HE will never leave us or forsake us. (Deut. 31:6) He is our nurturer, protector, parent, friend and redeemer. He is our superhero!!! And He loves us more than we can ever imagine.