I am a fan of a good ballad song. I am a belter of show tunes. The louder, the better, in my opinion. The generation just behind me lovesloveloves their low-key music. They love it moody, soulful lyrics, with a giant dose of nonchalance and a whole lot of easy listening. MEL-LOW.

I am 1000% not that girl.

The other night—I can’t recall why exactly—I got started on 80’s ballads while I was doing dishes. I pulled out my cute bluetooth speaker, turned it up to 11, and serenaded the house—and probably the bike path along our backyard. By the time Jeremy’s D&D guys were arriving I was really into it. I was self-concious enough to control my moves, which were already mortifying my 15 year old, but I couldn’t stop/wouldn’t stop with the ballads. They were joy to my soul.

Zephaniah 3:17 has something to say about God’s love for us and I’m pretty sure it’s saying that God is jamming out over YOU with the passion of an 80’s rock ballad.

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.

Exult is a weird word. Thanks for that, ESV (English Standard Version, a translation of the bible). It means to be highly elated or jubilant. Think along the lines of the Huskers scoring a winning field goal or you getting that job or being at the best concert with the best friends. Lots of energy. Lots of joy. Lots of high fives.

But wait, there’s something here for the emo among us. If the thought of God 80’s-rock-ballading you is terrifying and unsettling, read the few lines ahead of that. God has GLADNESS for you. Over you. In you. He also stills your ever-moving, ever-wandering, ever-anxious soul. “He quiets you by his love.”

Not every moment is a Broadway-belter. In fact, those moments are rather rare, even for me. In between those times are miles and miles of indecision and confusion. And Zephaniah 3:17 is saying that the very God of the universe will save me. He actually rejoices over me. He quiets me. And yes, he looks at me and breaks out in song over his incredible love for me.

Do you believe that? Do I believe that? How would my world look different if I remembered that the God who created mountains and oceans and all the creatures in them, the planets and stars and all of the cosmos, also really really liked me a lot. He likes me more than my husband, more than my mom and dad, more than my best friend on the best day of our lives. He is here with me and saves me from my troubles. He is here with me and rejoices over me. He settles my heart and then riles it up again but with his profound love and EXUBERANCE over me.

What in the world? Truly, we Christians are either right or we’re absolutely crazy. There’s no in-between here. As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.