Hearing the Father Sing – LOOK

Kids get it! One of the gifts of being a grandparent is rediscovering the world through  the eyes of a child. It’s as if God needs to remind us that we benefit from experiencing His Kingdom just as child experiences the world. In so many ways children are more in tune to the here and now and certainly not overwhelmed by the stuff of life that we as adults get fixated on.

One of the things I’ve observed is their love for music and especially worship. I remember a time when Patty and I were babysitting one of our grandkids and we turned on worship music and all of the sudden the toys were dropped as the arms went up in the air and the little legs started to dance.

We couldn’t help ourselves as we picked this little one up and joined in the dance of praise. Before long we both found ourselves in tears, this was a holy moment, a gift to remind us of what really maters in life.

For the next several weeks I want to consider ways to help us hear the Father’s voice as He sings and dances over us inspired by Zeph. 3:17:

“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.”

The first step in hearing our Father sing over us is to look at the One who sings over us-using our childlike faith. Jesus taught that the way into the presence of the Father’s Kingdom is to become like a little child again (see Mt. 18:1-4). How I desire that simple childlike trust.

Notice the text says: “The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save…”  Earlier in vs. 15 is says “The LORD has taken away your punishment, He has turned back your enemy. The LORD, the King of Israel, is with you; never again will you fear any harm.” Powerful words indeed!

Zephaniah the prophet was pointing ahead to the gift of the Father’s Son Jesus and His mighty work as our Warrior God, One who would fight for us on the cross and destroy the power of satan and sin over our lives. Jesus became our King when the Father raised Him from the dead and gave Him the throne of authority over all the world.

With childlike awe and trust we look. We recognize. We know our Heavenly Father sings over us with the gift of His Son Jesus. Jesus is the Father’s love song and IF we stop hearing His singing we need to pause and once again lift up our heads, look at Jesus, and claim the work He did for us. Jesus not only saved us from the power of darkness and sin, but He created in our hearts a place for God the Father and Son to make their home through the Holy Spirit (see John 14:23).

The Creator of the Universe lives in us, and is with us, and is always singing over us with His love song. Therefore we have nothing to fear in life or even in death. His arms will never, ever let us go.

As we were singing, dancing, and holding our little grandchild with arms of love, I couldn’t hold back the tears because God was giving me a picture of just how much He loves me. My Father just wants me to let Him hold and carry me  and with childlike faith look at His love song revealed in Jesus. He is The One who shed tears of love for me, and that love led Him to the cross so that I could hear the love song for all eternity.

Are you having trouble hearing His Song over you? Now is the time to become like a child again. Look at the Father’s gift of Jesus given to reveal His love for you. There is an old hymn that helps me look again, perhaps it will help you as well:

When I Survey the Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous cross, On which the Prince of Glory died, My richest gain I count but loss, And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast, Save in the death of Christ my God: All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood.

See, from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down: Did e’er such love and sorrow meet, Or throne compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole ream of nature mine, That were a present far too small; Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all. Amen!