God in the Midst of Everyday Life

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Accidentally knocked off the wall, an artistic rendering of this verse sits frameless in our dining room, waiting to be repaired,

“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).

Until recently, these beautifully poetic, prophetic words hung in the kitchen, making me catch my breath every time I slowed down long enough to read them, every time I slowed down long enough to ask, do I really believe them?

Do I really believe the Lord is in my midst, right here in the middle of my kitchen with its mess, its dishes in the sink and pot on the stove, the refrigerator covered with magnets and children’s artwork? As I help my teen with his homework and fold laundry at the table? When I stand wracking my brain and scrolling my phone for a recipe using the five ingredients collected on the counter? When my daughter bumps herself and needs an ice cube for her elbow and a cuddle on the floor?

Is God really with me in the midst of my everyday life?

Our hope as Christians is that God sent Jesus, "'Immanuel,' (which means God with us)," to live among his people and bring the salvation that Zephaniah prophesied (Matt 1:23). While it feels too good to be true, not only is God in our midst, but he made a way for us to be with him. Right in the middle of our everyday lives.

If that’s true, then the rest must be true too. God rejoices over us, his adopted sons and daughters. As we delight in our children, our heavenly Father delights in us, and more so—because his delight is pure, untainted by impatience or anger or selfishness.

Is your heart troubled? Let God quiet you with his love. He already proved it:

“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).

God loves you. Give that thought time to soak. Time for your heart and mind to absorb it until it fills you and pushes out the lies and doubts and fears and anxieties that trouble you.

My two-year-old is singing in the background as I write these words. Her voice is sweet and gentle, delightful to my ears. Zephaniah describes God as exulting over his people with loud singing; what must that sound like?

Zephaniah’s beautiful words might seem too good to be true, but they’re truer than so many of the other words we hear each day. If they make their way to our hearts, then it won’t really matter whether a frame adorns our walls or sits waiting to be repaired. Whether our lives are glued together or broken in pieces. God is in our midst, and he is mighty to save.


You can follow Katie Faris on Facebook and Instagram or learn more about her book Loving My Children: Embracing Biblical Motherhood here. 
Katie Faris is married to Scott, and her greatest works in progress are their five children ages 2 to 13. She is the author of Loving My Children: Embracing Biblical Motherhood. A graduate of Grove City College, Katie formerly served in youth ministry in rural Pennsylvania, taught in China, and worked as a copywriter and editor.