Did you know that the Lord delights in you? He DELIGHTS in you. To delight in someone means "to take great pleasure" in them. They would "please you greatly". One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Zephaniah 3:17:
"For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With his love, he will calm all your fears.[a]
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”
Whoa. I am a sinner. I fall short. I make mistakes. I am not perfect, but God says he delights in me and he does it with GLADNESS? How wonderful is that? No matter what you have done, God delights in you with gladness. He loves you. You are important to Him. The Creator of the Universe delights in YOU. Let that sink in for a moment. It's simply amazing to me.
Now, God doesn't delight in the things I have done that have taken me away from him, nor does he delight in my failures or shortcomings, but he does delight in ME. He created ME for a reason and with a purpose. He created YOU. He loves YOU. He delights in YOU. He has a plan and purpose for YOU. Those things that happened to you, those things that you have done to take yourself away from Him? Well, they grieve him so very much, but he still loves you. He loves you so much that he doesn't want for you to remain in that darkness. He doesn't want you to remain apart from him. He wants you to be dead to those things, your past, that sin, and alive in him. He offers the free gift of Salvation to all. He doesn't exclude anyone. You don't have to be perfect to accept it, but you MUST accept it and you can't earn it. There is no such thing as a good person. No amount of good things will wipe away your sins. Only Jesus can. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father, but through him. God offers forgiveness, freely and fully. God does not punish those who seek him for forgiveness. He is merciful and just. He doesn't just forgive what he wants to forgive. He forgives ALL you confess. "If you confess your sins God is faithful and just to forgive your sins and purify you from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9) He loves you UNCONDITIONALLY. Nothing can ever take that love away. No one can ever take that love away. (Romans 8:38-39) So, if you're sitting there reading this thinking, "How can God love me?" I get it. I was there. God loves you, completely and fully, and he desires great things for YOU. He has great plans for YOU. He delights in YOU. YOU please him greatly. He loves YOU because he chooses to love who he created, even if his creation chooses not to acknowledge him or love him back. That is who is he is. God IS love and dear one, he loves you something fierce.
Take a look at Isaiah 62:3-4
You will also be [considered] a crown of glory and splendor in the hand of the Lord,
And a royal [a]diadem [exceedingly beautiful] in the hand of your God.
It will no longer be said of you [Judah], “Azubah (Abandoned),”
Nor will it any longer be said of your land, “Shemamah (Desolate)”;
But you will be called, “Hephzibah (My Delight is in Her),”
And your land, “[b]Married”;
For the Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married [owned and protected by the Lord].
God not only takes delight in you, he is like the proud parent who holds you in his hand for all to see. Look! Look! This is my son! This is my daughter in whom I am well pleased!" To him, you are exceedingly beautiful. He takes delight in you because he chooses to. You are his beloved. You are precious in his sight and he loves you infinitely greater than you can even imagine.
Father God, open the eyes of all who read this, open the ears of all who hear this and show them your love for them. Pour it out upon them, Lord, that they would know just how you see them. Help them to see how you delight in them. Lord help them to surrender completely and fully to you and walk in your ways all the days of their lives. In Jesus name, Amen.
