Often, when we think of heaven we visualize Jesus being adored by all the saints, and quite rightly so! He will be cherised and praised again and again! But, Scripture seems to point to the wonder that God's saints will be loved, appreciated and treated as trophies of God's grace. And, God Himself will lead the way!
Ponder this verse: “The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy (Zephaniah 3:17).
Primarily this pertains to Israel in time of her Kingdom victory. After Jesus defeats the nations of the earth, upon His return after the Tribulation Period, He will be the "victorious warrior" and will proceed to "exult over" His people "with joy." He will do this in three ways:
1. "He will exult over you with joy"
Certainly the Jews will be super happy when they see their King and learn that He is indeed the
expected Messiah and now all is well, but Jesus will delight beyond words ("exult") to see His
people believing, safe and in their promised home, at long last.
2. "He will be quiet in His love"
Love that isn't quite sure of itself can be noisy. A man can make a fool of himself (and a
woman too) if a relationship isn't yet secure. The antics to nail down the relationship can be
hilarious, especially when looked back upon. But, as in marriage, once love is in place, things
quiet down. When the sin, waywardness, frustrations of Israel are all history, and God Himself
has established their eternal safety, His love will quietly dwell upon His people forever and
ever. What a peaceful thought! No doubts as to her standing, no agitations as to "where is
our God?", no insecurities concerning the future, and the list of unsure love can go on and on,
but instead, the battles have been fought and the final victory won, and God and His people
settle in forever by quiet waters.
3. "He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy"
Interestingly, the "quiet" of His love does not rule out "shouts of joy", at least now and then.
Heaven will be perfect in its emotions, times for calm but times for exuberance. How beauti-
ful! America presently is plagued by too much "hype" always and ever, or so it seems. Every
TV commercial, every half-time at a sports event, every concert (and even church services)
seem to glory is noise. The louder the better. Now and then this is fine, but all the time? At
least seemingly so? What happened to the joys of "quiet", times of reflection, times just to
get in touch meaningfully with a subject at hand? I say, heavens emotions will be in perfect
balance.
Now, by way of application, apply what will be true of Israel in the Kingdom Age to the Church in heaven, the New Jerusalem. Believers will of course adore their King and Savior, Jesus Christ. They
will lay their crowns at His feet. But, in reverse, He will delight in seeing His "trophies of grace" home at last. He will make over us. He will delight in His people, saved and perfect at last, free from all sin, its guilt, its penalty, its power and now, its very presence. We will be free from the presence of sin, in His presence. Oh, that will be glory, glory at last! We will hear His exultations over us, catch His eyes and smiles and be surprised when heaven breaks forth in sharp shouts of joy, realizing they are directed toward us. But, all we then enjoy is only because of His grace and goodness, His replete salvation, and so, we will mostly worship and forever adore Him, to Whom be glory forever and ever.
- Dick D. Christen
