The Cry of God #WordWednesday

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared pieces of my newest project, a devotional called Bite of Bread. It’s definitely a work in progress. Still trying to find a home for it and just the right format. I pray it encourages you on this Word Wednesday as we look at a loved verse in the Bible, Zephaniah 3:17 and discover new meaning under our translation. Zephaniah is in the Old Testament, so the word Rinnah is a Hebrew word.

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

 Digging- Word Study Singing:

   רִנָּה Rinnah (rin·nä’): properly a creaking (or shrill sound), that is shout for joy or grief): cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing (-ing), triumph. ⁴

Fresh Bread

Every day he stood by the front door hoping his son would return. Waiting. Straining his eyes to look farther down the path. His patience seemed for nothing, yet he waited and prayed. With every movement, every traveler passing by, his hopes would rise and then depart until one day when he saw a familiar gait walking toward the home. He knew that walk. He could spot it from a mile away. It was his son! He’d come home.

The father couldn’t wait any longer, so he began to run toward the boy who’d chosen to leave. For an instant, the son feared his father’s wrath, but as the distance closed between them, he could see his father’s face. His eyes were wet with tears and a smile could not be maintained, and his arms . . . his arms were open wide.

As the father reached the son he embraced his once lost son and wailed a joyful cry. All the neighbors could hear the painful shout and they ran out to help. But when they reached the road no help was needed for the father held the son, tears of joy streaming down his face.

What if Zephaniah wrote that God joyfully wails over us rather than sings? The heart of our God is the same of the father in the parable of the lost son. If you’ve been to the middle east or have friends from other cultures, you know that they aren’t as quiet with their emotions as our Puritan heritage has made us. They are demonstrative and loud.

What would it mean to you for God to react this way when you come home to Him? Can you hear His joyful cry?

Let’s Live It

Pray: “Dear Father-God, we are amazed by your love. Thank you for going to such great lengths for us to become your sons and daughters. And thank you for waiting for us. Thank you for your tears of joy when we fall into your arms. We love you. Amen”

We discussed what lengths God went to for us in our morning fellowship Tuesday. To listen to what we discovered click here for the video of our Facebook Live Bite of Bread.