The Mighty Warrior is with you!
"The Lord your God is in your midst / a mighty warrior.....!" (Zephaniah 3:15b, and 17a - NAS/NIV....)
Hear it again and receive it!
The Mighty Warrior is with you!
What's more, the Mighty Warrior is more than just an ally!
The Mighty Warrior saves you! (NIV)
Why does He save you?!?!!!
The Mighty Warrior loves you!
O my soul! You must be safe indeed! The Mighty Warrior who has won the battle to establish an eternal foundation for Complete Victory is with you forever and loves you eternally!
..........
This third meditation on scripture from Good Morning Girls in the series You Are Loved builds powerfully on the previous two. The first study: celebrates His loving pursuit of us, and the second: celebrates complete victory through love.
And here, the study moves on, building on God's love and His victory...... we now focus on the Mighty Warrior who is the source of all of this transcendant love and eternal victory.
What more does Zephaniah say about this Mighty Warrior?
That he not only loves you, He delights in you!
O, my soul! You heard it yesterday! He doesn't just love your incorruptible spirit, He loves you, O my soul - to the point that He delights in you! Do you believe it yet? How many ways does He need to tell you?
O, my soul, You are so loved!
But what is this that is said of the Mighty Warrior next?
Ode to reading the Hebrew (maybe someday ...... *sigh*)!!!! What an amazing array of renderings of this next little phrase telling so much about the Mighty Warrior. Is this next little phrase so rich that no one can get it all into words...not in our flexible language repleat with the most varied vocabulary in the world...?
....in His love He will no longer rebuke you..... (NIV)
....with His love, He will calm all your fears...... (NLT)
....He will quiet you with His love..... (ESV, KJ200Bible)
....He will be quiet in His love..... (NAS)
....He will rest in His love...... (KJV, Jubilee Bible 2000, AKJV, ASV, DBT, ERS, WBT)
....In His love He will renew you with His love..... (ISV)
....He renews you by His love..... (Net Bible)
....renews you with His love....(God's Word Translation)
....He will be silent in His love.... (Douay-Rheims)
....He will calm you in His love.... (WEB)
....He doth work in His love.... (YLT)
Foreseen here:
The conflict - - - now over!
The Complete Victory - - - obtained!
And still, the Mighty Warrior is moving, - working -
His love enveloping all He is doing;
His efforts, effectual, by, in, and with His love...... for us.........
for ........ you!
for ........ ......... me!
All rebukes past, yes......... but there's more!
His movements........ accomplishing what 'He will' do.......
But what is it that He is doing?
What is the Mighty Warrior bent upon doing with His masterful use of His love?
Why does any warrior with love in his heart go to war?
To safeguard those whom He loves and end all threats to their peace......!
So it is with the Mighty Warrior!
And when the clanging chaos of the battle is over, the quiet that comes........
The quiet that comes *with the love that finally proves to be the end of all wars*.........
Is a quiet of the celebration of peace..
And that is what we see here - 'quiet', 'calm', 'rest', 'renew', 'silent' ......
So what is it that He is doing?
He is resting in His love......
He is drawing us into His rest with His love.
He is and has been creating calm for you and is drawing you into it with Him.
He is renewing us in the silence of that calm.
He is joining us......... in that peace.......
...........
Still, that is only in the days foreseen...... Days not yet come......
Oh! But those days are promised!
And for those who are loved! Yes! For those who are loved; for those who know His promise!
We hear as they did in the days of of the prophets:
Be still (or cease striving) and know that I am God. (Ps. 46:10)
O, my soul! Listen and hear!
He is!
He is love!
He is pursuing you with His love!
His is Complete Victory through His love!
He is the Mighty Warrior who brings you peace through His love!
He is the Mighty Warrior who relishes in the calm of peace, together,...... with you........
......
..............and there's more!
O, Yes! My soul! There's so much more!
The Mighty Warrior cannot contain His joy in His Complete Victory which He obtained for you!
When the Mighty Warrior has obtained His Complete Victory for you, and you have relished in His peace together......... tasting the beauty of the silence....... tasting it together with you ......
Then the Mighty Warrior will not contain His joy any longer..........
............................Then the Mighty Warrior will rejoice over you with a great cry!
............................Then the Mighty Warrior will rejoice over you with singing!...................
But for now....... O, my soul. Be still......... cease from striving..........
The promise of the Mighty Warrior will not fail, because there truly is something to the 'old fairy tale's telling, that:
True Love Conquers All!
What the old tales and fables have missed is this:
That True Love ........ is only from God.
His truest messenger........... who bears True Love to us.........
Is the Mighty Warrior!
The Mighty Warrior...... who loves us!
......... who loves.............. (me)!
...................sh................ it's time to be
still........
quiet.........
hush................
....................
S. - The Lord your God is with you,
The Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in his love he will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.
(but so many other renderings of this portion of the verse make its meaning so much richer........ - especially when combined with this one.......http://biblehub.com/zephaniah/3-17.htm):
....in His love He will no longer rebuke you..... (NIV)
....with His love, He will calm all your fears...... (NLT)
....He will quiet you with His love..... (ESV, KJ200Bible)
....He will be quiet in His love..... (NAS)
....He will rest in His love...... (KJV, Jubilee Bible 2000, AKJV, ASV, DBT, ERS, WBT)
....In His love He will renew you with His love..... (ISV)
....He renews you by His love..... (Net Bible)
....renews you with His love....(God's Word Translation)
....He will be silent in His love.... (Douay-Rheims)
....He will calm you in His love.... (WEB)
....He doth work in His love.... (YLT)
O. - The Holy Spirit has been so faithful to guide the women who put together this study for us.
This meditation upon scripture is built upon those previous studies: God pursues us with His love. With that love, He obtains Complete Victory......
Today, we move on to celebrate the one who obtained that victory established in, by, and with His love for us......., and what do we find as we celebrate the one who obtained the victory.......?
O, my soul! Rejoice!
The Mighty Warrior is with you.
The Mighty Warrior loves you.
The Mighty Warrior delights in you.
The Mighty Warrior, with the power of His love, has obtained peace for you, for your healing, calming, and renewing.
The Mighty Warrior, with the power of His love, has obtained peace for you, in order to enjoy and delight in peace with you!
The Mighty Warrior, after relishing in peace with us, will rejoice over you with a loud ringing cry...... - O, He will rejoice.......... with singing......
A. - Now we are to be like Him!
We need to face conflict with love - with Him!
We need to love Him - as He loved us!
We need to delight in Him!
We need to praise Him for His peace and receive His healing and renewing and calming from His love!
We need to relish and delight with Him in His peace!
We need to rejoice in Him!
We need to face conflict with His love - for others!
We need to love others - as He loved us!
We need to delight in others - delighting in those He has sent us to, to share His love!
We need to extend the peace of His kingdom - extending His healing - through the power of His love!
We need to delight in His peace with others - with Him!
We need to rejoice in the called - in His beloved - in His kingdom!
P. - Our Father! You sent your Mighty Warrior to love us, save us, delight in us, heal us, bring us peace, and prepare us here on earth to be with you in heaven! What a mighty, yet loving Father-God you are!
May your name be holy in my (our) life/lives: Faithful and True, and the name written on your crown which no one has yet known, and your name Word of God, and your name King of King and Lord of Lords (Rev 19:11-16).
Hurry and come again! No other warrior can bring an end to chaos and put The Kingdom of peace on the map with mankind so that no one can again say, "There is no god," even while God graciously, again and again proclaims "Adonai" (I am......). Mankind cries for peace, peace. But without you, there is no peace. Thank you for peace in your Kingdom of Heaven here on earth, and for bringing me into that peace with you. Help me to further that kingdom here today! Show me who in my path you mean for me to share the gospel with. Show me who you wish to use to refine me - bringing me into greater obedience (both disciplers, and those who are enemies, who laugh at my being in the fire, while you are using the fire to refine and purify me!). Show me who are my brothers and sisters in you - that I might fellowship with them! Manifest your kingdom Lord - King of King and Lord of Lords!
Thank you for the glass through which we see, darkly, in joy, the glorious love of you as warrior (Zephaniah 3), and, in humility, the fearsome holiness of you as warrior (Revelation 19). Help us to be moved both by your love and the fight that is ahead to preach peace through the cross.
Forgive us for not rejoicing with you when you rejoice, and for not seeking peace for others in response to your warning of the judgment to come. Help us to grow in both your grace, and in your *truth* - empowered unto good works by your truth.
And lead us not unto temptation - - - - but lead us into the world as a light - - - - leading us in the path of righteousness.......... for your name's sake.
For thine is the kingdom of the power of love - the kingdom of the warrior revealed - the kingdom of the holy one - so glorious!
Amen.
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