I Am Your Delight
A little over a year ago, I became a mom. As any new Christian parent will tell you, having a kid deepens your understanding of God as Father. The immense love you feel for your child is unlike any other.
I remember looking at my husband one day not long after coming home from the hospital and saying “I don’t think I could love her (our daughter) anymore.” I’d be lying if I said I’ve only said this a handful of times. Nope, I’ve probably said this phrase hundreds and hundreds of times over the first year of my daughter’s life.
In those first few weeks and months, my daughter was incapable of doing anything on her own besides cry, that is. She couldn’t sit, roll, talk, or fix her own bottle. She couldn’t put on her swaddle, change her diaper, or bathe herself. We had to do everything. She was utterly dependent on my husband and I for everything.
Yet, I’ll be the first to tell you: the fact that she couldn’t do anything for us didn’t lessen our love for her one bit. Just her mere existence gave us immense joy. Honestly, the love I feel for her is inexplainable in human terms!
Just think: this is only a tiny, tiny fraction of the pure DELIGHT that God the Father feels about us as His children!
Psalm 147:10-11 spells this out beautifully. “He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love” (New Living Translation).
I love how this translation says “He takes no pleasure.” This emphasizes that God doesn’t delight in what we do; He delights in us. He’s really not concerned if we are a pastor leading a huge congregation or a janitor cleaning toilets at a school. Of course, God loves it when we share the Gospel message with others, advocate for justice, or love our neighbors—all done in His name and for His glory—but it’s because He takes joy in us. He takes joy in us embracing our God-given calling and living that out.
He really isn’t concerned with our strength, charisma, resume, or platform. In fact, God seems to elevate the humble, meek, and poor in Spirit (think Beatitudes). Just two psalms later in Psalm 149, the psalmist writes:
“For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory” (Psalm 149:4)
God’s delight is in those who love, worship and obey Him. And He particularly elevates the humble.
I’ll never forget an analogy that Dallas Willard made in his famous book Hearing God. Willard made the point that parents delight in their children no matter what they do (barring harmful, damaging or destructive things, that is). They could be riding their bike outside, drawing a picture with crayons, building a castle, playing on the playground, reading a book; the list goes on. It really doesn’t matter exactly what they are doing. Parents just love watching their kids explore and play!
I listened to this book while I was pregnant, so I hadn’t yet experienced what Dallas is talking about. But one year into this parenting thing, it sure hits home for me. Recently, my daughter started walking for the first time. The other day she figured out how to put all of her rings on the stand when she used to just take them off. She just learned how to drink from an open cup, how to brush her teeth, and color her first picture! When she does anything for the first time, my husband and I scream, shout, cheer. We’re just so proud of her!
God does the same thing over you and me. Just as I felt pure joy over my newborn daughter who was needy and helpless, God delighted in us long before you could “do” any great works for him.
Friend, you make God smile. You bring pure joy to Him. I pray that you rest in the Father’s delight of you today, whether you’re changing a diaper, attending class, cooking dinner, or leading a Bible study.