I think we all know that we live in a very distraction-prone culture. There are voices competing for our attention constantly, to the point that it is hard to focus on one thing for very long before our thoughts are interrupted by something else.

For me, it seems lately that there have been even more opportunities for distraction.  Perhaps that is linked to the fact that our church right now is in a push for prayer over our city, our region, and our nation.  Perhaps it is because we are seeing things happen in response to our prayers – breakthrough for individuals as well as on larger scales.  Perhaps the distractions are just the enemy’s lame attempt to try to throw us off-course so we will stop praying, so we will become consumed with trivial things and forget to keep pressing on in our pursuit of God.

Sometimes the distractions come in the form of minor annoyances.  Sometimes they come as irrational (or rational) fears.  Sometimes they come as random, unexpected events that we can handle, but they still just throw us off our game.  Maybe the car broke down on the way to work, maybe your kid threw up with no warning at breakfast, or maybe the dog suddenly needed a trip to the vet.  Maybe you’ve had to spend endless hours on the phone trying to clear up an insurance claim, or maybe a co-worker is accusing you of something without any basis for the accusations.  Maybe your computer crashed, and you lost that important project you had been working on for your boss, or maybe you and your spouse just seem to be arguing for no apparent reason lately.  Sometimes the distractions are small inconveniences; other times, they may be huge problems.  But make no mistake; they are designed to steal your attention, to drain your time, to forfeit your focus, and ultimately, to shut down your worship.

If you were part of the recent series, Wired for Worship, then you already know how important your worship is.  You already know that your praise yields breakthrough and prompts God to move on your behalf.

But did you know that the song goes both ways?

I love it when — in moments that I am too frazzled or too consumed with my own issues to fully recall the Scripture I need – God just drops it right in front of my face.  That happened to me this morning.  I opened my Bible app, and this verse greeted me:

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.  (Zephaniah 3:17 ESV)

Now, what’s particularly important to me this morning is the phrasing of this specific translation.  I’ve heard this verse numerous times; I’ve even used it in teaching others about the love of God for us.  God sings over us!  That’s so cool!  But because of the part that says, “he will quiet you with his love,” I guess I’ve always envisioned God’s song over me as a soft lullaby.  And you know, there are times that I need Him to sing that way over me.  But today, I needed to see the last part written this way:  “he will exult over you with loud singing.”

With loud singing.

Why does that matter?  It matters, because when all of the voices and distractions are shouting at me, trying to pull my attention in a million directions, I need God’s song over me to be louder than everything else!  I need to hear Him above all of the other people and situations.  I need His voice to drown out all of the distractions.

I looked at a couple of other translations, and because of some things we have been dealing with this week, this one also stood out to me:

For the Lord your God is living among you; he is a mighty savior.  He will take delight in you with gladness.  With his love, he will calm all your fearsHe will rejoice over you with joyful songs. (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT)

He will calm all our fears.  And He will do it by rejoicing over us.

God is singing over you today.  He is celebrating you!  He is calming every fear, reminding you of who He is and of who you are in Him.  And He is enthusiastic about how much He loves and cares for you.

Whatever distractions and situations are bombarding you today, be encouraged!  I challenge you to tune into the voice of the Lord, your loving Father, and allow His song over you to drown out everything else around you.

And whatever you do, don’t stop pressing forward!  This is the year of the overflow.

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