Who Am I? I am the Delight of God.
The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
Have you ever paused to really consider that God rejoices over you? The NIV states, “He will take great delight in you.” Think about that. God. Delights. In. You. As sinful as you may be, you are God’s prized creation (Genesis 1:26-27) and He delights in you.
So many lose sight of this life-changing realization. Instead of humbly celebrating the fact that they are the delight of God, many find themselves exhaustedly running on a hamster wheel of religion in an attempt to gain God’s favor. This wheel may partially be created by well-intentioned Youth Pastors and Sunday School teachers who give student leaders “checklists” of Spiritual Disciplines and Bible Studies that will help them draw closer to God. Although such resources can be extremely helpful, it is important not to confuse a list of “do’s” with enjoying a relationship with God. This can quickly lead one to feel like a spiritual failure, which is exactly what God does not want.
What God does want is for us to delight in Him. Psalm 37:4 states, “Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 70:4 says, “Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; and let those who love Your salvation say continually, ‘Let God be magnified!’” God delights in us as we delight in Him. Just as an earthly father, God desires for His children to desire and take joy in Him.
Do not forget today the great price that God paid to have this love relationship. While you were still a sinner, Christ died for you. (Romans 5:8) Christ’s death and resurrection not only offers freedom from sin and death, but it also offers freedom from an exhausting form of religion that seeks acceptance. Accept the fact that you are loved by God with an infinite amount of love. May your acts of service and devotion today be an overflow of your delight in the Lord; not to be checked off a list, but to be given as a spiritual act of worship.
Challenge…
As you pray today, take time just to delight in the Lord. And pray that you will enjoy His company as much as He enjoys yours.
*Devotion by Tripp Atkinson as it appears in Impact Student Leadership Devotional. To purchase, click here. And for more devotions, click here.