Zephaniah 3:17 (NKJV)
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.

The minor prophet Zephaniah wrote a short, but powerful, three chapter prophecy.  About 100 years prior to his writing, Assyria was victorious over the northern kingdoms (all tribes except Judah and Simeon).  However, the practices of the Assyrians would infiltrate Judah’s society.  False idols would become the norm in the land.  This would greatly displease the Lord. 

Zephaniah’s prophecy is similar to other prophecies found in Scripture.  Main themes of a prophet’s writing usually included: judgement, an appeal for repentance, and God’s promise that He would not forsake those who have turned back to Him, the One true God (Ex. 20:3). 

Zephaniah 3:17 has five wonderful themes listed below:  

• The Lord your God is in your midst.  Despite your past, He is quick to forgive if you seek Him (2 Chr. 2:14).  When no one else may forgive you; when they desert you, God is in your midst.
• He is the Mighty One who saves (Isa. 63:1).  He is the Author of salvation and can save you from any circumstance you may find yourself in.
• God will rejoice over you with gladness.  Remember the father of the prodigal son?  He ran to his son with open arms when his son turned from his wicked ways and journeyed back home (Luke 15:20).  Like the son in this story, the Father will run to you, embrace you, kiss you, and rejoice with gladness as well.
• He will quiet you with His love.  Sometimes we feel we do not deserve God’s love because of our sin.  But He overwhelms us with a love that is so great; a love we cannot comprehend, and all we can do is to be quiet in His mighty presence (1 John 4:8, 16).
• God rejoices over you with singing.  Perhaps the Lord is singing a song He wrote just for you.  It would not be the first song he wrote (Deut. 31:19, 32:1-43).  Imagine God Almighty rejoicing over you in song!

In many ways we are no different from the Israelites.  We stumble.  We fall.  We may take longer than God desires to repent of our sins.  In turn, we are similar in that God loves us very deeply.  He simply wants us to turn from evil to righteousness so we may fellowship with Him again.  Don’t let the enemy deceive you.  God’s love is greater than your darkest sin.  Own it, repent, and go home to God the Father.  His open arms are waiting just for you.