Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Did you know that God sings over you? I was at Liberty University this past Monday at a student-led prayer morning. We were praying this verse over the students. The girl I was praying with had a version that said “loud singing.” She wondered what that sounded like. In my head, I was thinking—I’ve experienced that. Well, not the loud part, but He has sung to me.

The way I’ve heard Him, it’s more soft and intimate. To some of you this might sound sacrilegious or blasphemous, but He sings me songs that I love—and they’ve almost never been Christian songs. But they are songs that mean something to me. I will never forget the first time I heard Him sing to me. I burst out laughing, thinking, What? God is singing me that song?

I was lying in bed one night during my Discipleship Training School with YWAM, just talking to Him. Then a line from a song floated through my mind—part of a love song from a movie I liked. It’s happened a few other times since then, and once a few days ago. Every time it happens, it’s like a treasure to hold on to—a way He speaks identity or healing over me in a way I can’t ignore.

He’s so sweet to us. He gives us ways to remember who we are and how much He loves us. He is so passionately in love with us and pursuing us. He doesn’t hold back. But are you aware? Do you take notice? Or are you blind to even the obvious right in front of your face?

I feel like I may have shared this with you before, but the first time in my life when I started to notice little things that God would use to tell me how much He loved me was through heart-shaped leaves, bunches of tulips or roses, and a particular bird song. God made all three of those things—how could I not see them as His love for me? The details, the beauty—it was put there for me to find.

How much would you notice or hear if you just opened your eyes and ears to the things around you? He doesn’t make it hard to find. But He also doesn’t force His love upon you. His love is sweet and gentle. He is a gentleman. You have to be the one to receive what He has for you. He can give you all the gifts He wants to give you, but if you don’t open them, that’s up to you.

It’s okay to ask Him to open your eyes to see the things He’s put around you as a sign of His love. Ask Him even to open your heart to receive what He has for you. Sometimes it’s scary and hard—maybe because you don’t trust Him, or maybe you don’t feel you deserve it. But ask for courage to receive His love for you. Ask Him to move the hardness out of the way so that you can truly experience the fullness of His love.

I’m going to leave you with a song I wrote about this very thing. It’s very rough—I don’t write music, so maybe it’s more like a poem—but the words are still fitting.

The original words were these, though some didn’t make it into the song. So, I’ll write this first:

We danced in the rain underneath your rainbow

You placed your tulips on my table

To show me how much you love me

You put your love song to the toon of the birds in the trees

 

 

Real song:

The many ways you love me

 

Sometimes I forget

And many times don’t see

How lavish and obvious

Your love is for me

 

It is so obvious to see

And so real I can touch it

So let me not forget

The many way you love me

 

You hung the moon and stars

So that in the dark I can still

See your light

You cause the sun to rise

So that I may see your beauty

 

You cause a wild storm

To chase away my foes

When they are many (psalm 18)

 

You shut the clouds of rain

In times of celebration

 

Your heart you have made

In the shape of a leaf

You scatter them in my path

 

Your songs of love sing over me

Every morning

And your words of love

In the melody of the birds

 

You court me with bouquets of flowers

And tell me you will never leave

Always being faithful

 

There is one I tend to forget the most

But it is more important still

 

How you gave your life for me

That I could be your perfect spotless bride

And join you in your fathers house

At the wedding banquet

 

Yes, many time I forget and often do not see

How lavish and obvious

Your love is for me

 

But I give myself to you

In the best way I can

My life for real life

My life for yours

 

So here I am, take all of me

Use me my perfect Lord for your Glory

 

Have a good week everyone.