How do we view God?

“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

How do we view God? Is he a loving father or a condemning guardian? A mixture of both or something all together different? I think each of us has a different view of Him that is shaped by our own upbringings and Christian experiences. Personally, I sometimes tend to think that He is disappointed with me and I have discovered that this negatively influences my relationship with Him. I have a professor (Dr. Jim Howard) who has said that he believes God cannot be displeased with a Christian. I have pondered this statement a lot and would encourage you to do the same. If it is true, how would that change the way you relate to God? Look again at the passage above—God delights in you, He rejoices over you with singing! Do you ever picture God singing over you? Another professor of mine writes in his notes on this passage, “One thing is for God’s people to rejoice in him. It is quite another to see how Yahweh rejoices over his people, how he sings over them when they are pure and have been cleansed (3:17)! His final word, and his ultimate desire, is to bless his people.” I would encourage Christians to ponder this aspect of God’s character and allow it to influence your relationship with Him.

(Final quote from online notes on Zephaniah, © M. Daniel Carroll R., Denver Seminary, 2001-2003. All rights reserved. Updated 8/18/2003)