Jumping for Joy!

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. I will gather those of you who mourn for the festival, so that you will no longer suffer reproach. Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors. And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth. At that time I will bring you in, at the time when I gather you together; for I will make you renowned and praised among all the peoples of the earth, when I restore your fortunes before your eyes,” says the LORD. (Zephaniah 3:17-20 ESV). Sometimes I get the opportunity to see God through the eyes of a child. It is an amazing look into the perception of joy and gladness that permeates the character of our heavenly Father. Some time ago I was visiting in the Sunday School class of some preschoolers and I sat in one of the little chairs beside a very intent little girl. As I sat down I asked her to explain her drawing to me. It was a colorful drawing that was more scribble than portrait, but as she began to talk I was amazed at her insight. She started with a figure. “That’s God,” she said. “What’s God doing?” I asked. “Jumping up and down,” she said. Then she drew something underneath God. “That’s a trampoline,” she said. Then, off to the side, she had drawn another figure. “That’s me,” she said. She had also added a thought bubble by God’s head filled with X’s and O’s. She announced that while God was jumping up and down, God was thinking about her. This little child was latching on to what she was hearing in Bible stories and experiencing through people at church. She was discovering a God who loved her deeply. She was claiming God’s delight over her, and in turn it brought her delight. This was a child’s budding faith at its best, searching and finding a love that is so expressive and undeniable. In her mind’s eye was a vivid portrait of a God who is giddy with love for her, a God who will not forget her. I was reminded of this truth last weekend while at the soccer fields. We were sitting on the sidelines watching another team playing after our game had concluded. They were older players. Suddenly from across the field a little boy of about four or five came trotting across the field during play. He trotted toward us, tears welling up in his eyes, and began to inform us that he was lost. He couldn’t find either his big brother or his mother. As we walked him safely off the field and toward the field where he should have been playing, a woman began to run toward us. As she neared, the little boy began to run toward her and she scooped him up into her arms and danced around in the joy of finding her child who was lost. That’s how it is when the Lord “exults over us with loud singing”! I am not sure whether to be more amazed that I have been redeemed, or that the Lord cared to redeem me in the first place. Either way, I know I am jumping for joy with Him! That’s worth celebrating today!