Do I Delight In God?

Do I delight in God?  I know I should, Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4:4 to, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" and Psalm 37:4 tells us, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."  And after all, He delights in me!  But do I?  Am I pleased with God, His rule and reign? 

At one time in my life I am not sure I could have answered this question in the affirmative, "But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. " (1 John 4:18)  Knowing that He delights in me, that He sees me as I am and still loves me (Psalm 139) and that He will never leave nor forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6) , has allowed me to open my heart to Him with abandon.  I am free to delight in Him, enjoy Him and give myself to Him. 

Though I am far from perfected, the hard things of life have refined me and brought me to say, " Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.  I will praise you with the lyre,   O God, my God." (Psalm 43:4) 

I am pleased with God, not because he does for me all that I want, but because of His character (Psalm 33:4; 145:13,17).  "The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love."  (Psalm 33:5)  He has brought good to me and continually works for my good (Romans 8:28).  He grants me peace even when I cannot understand (Philippians 4:4-9).  "You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." (Psalm 16:11)  It is a delight in God Himself, not in His gifts, though I thank Him for them.  For if we delight in His gifts alone, we will cease delighting in Him when we don't get our way.  "But may all who seek you, rejoice and be glad in you; may those who long for your saving help always say,  “The Lord is great!” (Psalm 70:4)

Paul's prayer for the Ephesians was, "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." (Ephesians 3:16-19)  God is love and as we love we are like Him.  In Christ all the fullness of God dwells and in Him we have been made complete.  Christ in us is our hope of glory.  (Colossians 1:13-28, 2:6-12)  Through the empowerment of His Holy Spirit we can love and delight in God.  And in so doing, this love and delight that is beyond what we can imagine (Ephesians 3:20), will spill over onto those around us.

As Paul prayed for the Ephesians, so I pray for you.  May you know the love of God and delight in Him, becoming the praise of His glory!

Celebration of A Life

" May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)

Today I was privileged to attend the funeral of Betty Hale.  A privilege, because God afforded me the opportunity to know her in life and experience the hope she shares in death.  She was a character, she loved our pizza, and she lived with hope in Christ!  My only regret is not taking the time to know her better. 

Today I was reminded of the influence we all inherently carry.  We don't have to be famous.  We will be an influence (if only to our immediate sphere), whether for good or evil.  We choose which it will be.  And the simplest acts of kindness can leave forever marks.

Even through tears of sorrow for the loss on earth, I couldn't help smiling as I gazed upon her empty body.  There was the white chocolate truffle, reminding us of her sense of humor and a feeling of assurance that she was now having "the time of her life".  I don't claim to have any direct line to heaven, but I could almost feel her joy.  As I walked past the casket to say a final goodbye, I couldn't help but silently tell her, "You go girl!"  Then I turned and walked away with a bit of jealousy. 

My turn will come, but until that day, may I too live my life well. 

Does God Delight In Me?

 

Does God delight in me?  This is a question I have been pondering.  I wondered if I was the only one who wasn't sure about it.  So, I asked the question to a few friends who were gracious enough to respond.  I just had this feeling that the answer really mattered.  After weighing their answers, searching scripture and pondering still more, I came to a conclusion.  YES!!!  God does delight in me!  What a relief!

On what have I based this glorious conclusion?  Humanities story as told in the Bible.  From creation, where God was pleased to make man in His own image and declared us very good (Genesis 1:26-31), to Revelation, where we forever live in his presence (Revelation 22:3-5).  God's delight is wrapped up in His love.  He is always faithful and His nature does not change (Numbers 23:9).  It pleased God to commune with mankind in the Garden.  Then the fall of man brought grief and separation from God.  The rest of the story has been God pursuing man to redeem him and restore the relationship they once shared.  Even in the midst of our fallen state God still delights in us, for His love has not changed.  "For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory." (Psalm 1149:4)

So does our behavior not matter?  Yes and no.  Our behavior is the result of what matters.  We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), and His love has never been based on our actions.  "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9).  It is faith that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6).  In Romans chapter one, they were condemned for not honoring God as God.  He wants us to glorify Him by putting our trust in him.

Now, we know that we were created for good works (Ephesians 2:10) and James makes it clear that our faith is made evident by our deeds (James 2:18).  But, we must not make the same mistake the Galatians did, who after beginning in the Spirit tried to finish in the flesh (Galatians 3:1-3).  The great love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, reminds us that no matter how great our deeds, if we have not love they mean absolutely nothing!  So, let us be obedient and live the law of love.

¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.

But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;

rather, serve one another humbly in love.

¹⁴ For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command:

 “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

 ¹⁵ If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

¹⁶ So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

 ¹⁷ For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit,

 and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.

 They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

 ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;

 ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,

fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions

 ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.

I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control.

 Against such things there is no law.

 ²⁴ Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

 ²⁵ Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

 ²⁶ Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Galations 5:13-26

John Piper sums it up well, "What God delights about us is that we delight in Him."  So, I guess the next big question that needs to be answered is...Do I delight in God?  Hmmmm.....