God Delights in You?
by Pastor Gene
David was well acquainted with his sins – and like ours, they were many.
I think perhaps the most difficult thing for David to wrap his mind around was that God would actually delight in him, enjoyed him.
In fact, the king wrote, that God delights in him was the very reason why He delivered Him! Psalm 18:19: “He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me.”
Of course, David was exactly right! Despite what we may think, God really does rejoice in us!
Tozer wrote:
Another characteristic of love is that it takes pleasure in its object. God enjoys His creation. The Apostle John says frankly that God’s purpose in creation was His own pleasure. God is happy in His love for all that He has made. We cannot miss the feeling of pleasure in God’s delighted references to His handiwork.
Psalm 104 is a divinely inspired nature poem almost rhapsodic in its happiness, and the delight of God is felt throughout it. “The glory of the Lord shall endure forever: the Lord shall rejoice in his works.”
The Lord takes peculiar pleasure in His saints. Many think of God as far removed, gloomy and mightily displeased with everything, gazing down in a mood of fixed apathy upon a world in which He has long ago lost interest; but this is to think erroneously.
True, God hates sin and can never look with pleasure upon iniquity, but where men seek to do God’s will He responds in genuine affection. Christ in His atonement has removed the bar to the divine fellowship. Now in Christ all believing souls are objects of God’s delight. “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
(Tozer, A.W., Knowledge of the Holy: Drawing Closer To God Through His Attributes, p.91)
Now, friends, I have to be completely honest with you. I can sympathize with David’s struggle because his struggle is my struggle! It is very difficult for me to receive this truth about myself. I NEVER feel worthy of this kind of love from God. But, to deny it would be to deny God’s very Word and what it says about me.
I love Isaiah 49:15-16. In it, God reminds his people, Israel, of His love for her. He asks, “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”
The word “engraved” pictures something that’s been ‘cut in,’ much like the way a tomb is cut into the side of a mountain. It’s an astonishing glimpse into the continual and permanent care that God has for those who are His.
Somehow, as counterintuitive as is seems, the Heavenly Father rejoices over me. He not only sees me in my weaknesses and shortcomings; He sees me at the finished line.
That’s how the story ends, friends. All who have put faith in the Person and work of Jesus Christ will make it to the finish line!
Jesus explained it like this: “Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of Him who sent Me: that I should lose none of those He has given Me but should raise them up on the last day” (John 6:37-39).
Lord, today, let my life be something that is worthy of your delight!
To consider …
- How do you feel when you hear that God delights in you?
Does it bring up conflicting thoughts within you?
This is an area where we may need to affirm the testimony of God’s Word despite what we may see in ourselves.
What difficulties does this pose for you?
- How does God’s response to you in your failures teach you to act toward others in theirs?
- Think about Tozer’s words: “Many think of God as far removed, gloomy and mightily displeased with everything, gazing down in a mood of fixed apathy upon a world in which He has long ago lost interest.”
What do you think about this?
Does any part of his statement describe your thoughts about God?
Do you see Him as far off and disinterested in you?
How do your thoughts square with God’s Word on this subject?
- How does the truth that Jesus will deliver you safely to the finished line affect you? How should this truth affect our day-to-day lives as followers of Jesus?
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I think perhaps the most difficult thing for David to wrap his mind around was that God would actually delight in him, enjoy him. This was at the beginning of our devotional today but it is what is sticking in my head. It reminds me about the child like faith we are suppose to have. Do you remember what it was like as a child to celebrate your birthday? I know some of you may not have had big parties or expensive gifts but I hope all of you had that one day a year where it was ok to be the center of attention. King or Queen for the day. I think if we could only capture that feeling each and every day. Just the fact that God has given us one more Thursday, one more morning to get up out of bed and enjoy what has been given to us. We may not always like the gift that was given for us to unwrap and use, but the fact that the real gift is the gift of another day not only here but also, in Heaven (eternal life). Another day spent with the Holy Spirit living in us. I do find it hard to put aside my frustrations and disappointments with self. But if I could only begin each day thanking God for one more day, asking for forgiveness in my failures and strength to make today just a little (if not a lot) better than yesterday. How silly of me to forget that in His eyes I am the star of the day. I may not perform the best performance of my life but the fact that I tried, and hopefully tried my best to please him will help me make it thru the journey called life with a joyful and thankful spirit.
Well put, Mary! Remembering back from my dysfunctional home really the only time I felt very special was my birthday. I’m thankful for those memories because most of the time I did not feel acceptable. ☹️So it has taken me literally decades 38 years) to own the fact that Jesus does love me so much that he has engraved my name in the palm of his hands and I am His beloved and he is mine like it says in song of Solomon! Ahh! Quoting the bridge to a song that I wrote in the early 80s to show my love for Jesus…”and I know he died for me,he suffered to set me free he loved me more than anyone could when he gave his life for me (“Nohing Else Matters”)
I was reminded of something that Oswald Chambers wrote in “My Utmost for His Highest” (9/4) “our Lord makes a disciple His own possession, He becomes responsible for him… The spirit that comes in is not that of doing anything for Jesus, but of being a perfect delight to him. The secret of the missionary is -I am His, and He is carrying out His enterprises through me. Be entirely His.” Wow, I say…I never thought about being a disciple that way. Oswald says earlier in that same devotional writing, a true disciple by Jesus’ own definition of the word, is the “one over whom Jesus writes the word “MINE.” If Jesus claims me and is responsible for me, growing me by His Spirit, and is using me (“who am I? is the immediate question that pops into my mind, of course) then there MUST be delighting going on as He watches HIS work be accomplished. It’s not about my inability but about HIS ability. In some mysterious way, when Jesus sees that word “MINE” on me, it brings him delight. I want to think about that as I go about my day because that thought will keep me close to Him and desiring to please Him.
I’m still “on cloud nine” after hearing Sunday’s message and reading the blogs from this week. It is just so encouraging to hear that God delights in me. Sometimes, we “know” these things, but to HEAR it, just lights everything up.
I think of a figurine that Steve’s grandmother had on display in her living room. It was ofb a girl leaning on a large hand. The expression that the artist had on her face, one of peace, joy, rest,… of being delighted over. Something so simple left such an impression on me. It’s how I felt when I finally believed the truth of what God did for me, how He felt about me. Lord, may we live everyday of our lives knowing how much you love us, how much you delight in us, how much you long to her from us and communicate with us. We are blessed, indeed!!