On that day they will say to Jerusalem, “Do not fear, Zion; do not let your hands hang limp. The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:16-17)

Several summers ago, on a family vacation, we were at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., watching a Major League Soccer game between the L.A. Galaxy and D.C. United.

The main reason we were there was so our two soccer player sons could see star player David Beckham “live” in action.

It was a typical soccer game. Lots of ball movement. Passes to the right, left and centre. Many throw-ins from the sidelines. A few shots on goal. A couple of corner kicks. One goal per team.

Most of the fans were simply sitting as we were, giving their neck muscles a good workout as their heads moved from play to play in slow and short rhythmic bursts.

But, there was one unexpected element to the whole game that completely caught me off guard.

The first time I heard it, I didn’t even pay much attention to it. It sounded like a group was singing.

Much to my surprise, though, the singing did not stop after a few bars or lines or stanzas. It kept on going in the background all the way through the 90 plus minutes of the game.

It was not as loud as it would be at a baseball or football game when most of the fans would add their voices and belt out “Take me out to the ball game” or “Green is the colour” as loudly as they possibly could.

But you could not ignore it. Neither could you tune it out. Mind you, it was not obtrusive in any way. It was, well, just obviously there!

Soccer fans tell me that the tradition comes from the U.K. where fans simply made up songs that are meant to support their team as well as mock the opposition.

Made me wonder about the impact the singing would have on players on the field. Normally, they would hear cheers when someone made a good play or scored a goal. Or they would be bombarded with boos when someone goofed up and made a bad play.

What a great way to be reminded that your team is rooting for you and railing against the opposition all the way through the game!

It reminded me of the verses from Zephaniah quoted at the beginning of this post. Our Father in heaven is singing over us all the time.

When the people of Jerusalem were tempted to live in fear because of their enemies and be discouraged (symptomatic of the limp hands), the prophet assures them that God is on their side.

He believes in them so much and cares so much for them that He sings over them. All they had to do was hear His singing over and above the din of the battle and the clash of swords (or soccer cleats!).

Wow! What great reassurance it would have been for the people of Jerusalem to be aware of His singing!

How about you, dear DWOD friend? Perhaps you are in a similar predicament—facing fear or discouragement.

Take heart. Like soccer fans singing all through the game, your Father in heaven is singing over you all the time.

Do you hear Him?