September 24th

The Lord Delights in You

            For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until her vindication shines out like the dawn, and her salvation like a burning torch. The nations shall see your vindication, and all the kings your glory; and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will give.  You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married.

Isaiah 62:1-4

            There are several lines and several themes in this passage that I have written about at length.  The Lord will give you a new name.  You will no longer be called cursed, forsaken or despised.  There is a day coming when all of the weights and pains and brokenness of this life will be rolled away and our children will be made new.  That is all amazing stuff.  But today I want to focus on one small part of Isaiah’s message:  The Lord delights in you.

            The Lord delights in you.  It does not say, “The Lord tolerates you.”  It does not say, “The Lord is amused by you.”  It does not say, “The Lord needs you.”  It does not even say, “The Lord is disappointed in you.”

            The Lord delights in you.  He is pleased.  He is joy-filled.  When He looks at you a smile crosses His face and love fills His heart.  In the midst of our brokenness…in the midst of our bad days…in the midst of all the ways that we fail each and every day…we make His day.

            It makes sense to me when I put this in the context of my own children.  I come home from work every day and I see my kids and I find that I am smiling.  They could be happy or sad or hurt or angry or a mixture of all of the above and I am still delighted to see them.  Every morning I greet my son and stare at him in awe and wonder.  He is so big.  He is so independent.  He is becoming his own man and yet all I have to do is close my eyes for a second and I remember the tiny baby that I held in the delivery room and rocked to sleep for the first time.  Those eyes looked up at me and pierced straight to my heart.  They do that very same thing today.

            God delights in you.  Not because of how well you took care of crisis today or because of how productive you were.  He delights in you because you are His child and you are connected to His heart.  He is your biggest cheerleader.  He is your fiercest defender.  He wants the best and only the best for you and His day is better just because you are a part of it.

            I am not waiting for my son to get his life all figured out before I will love him.  Neither is God waiting for you to pass some sort of moral test or life-skills challenge before He decrees that you are worth His time and attention.  Right here, right now, God looks at you and smiles.

            The Lord delights in you.

A moment to reflect:

Hug your kiddo today.  Remember that feeling.  Then spend some time praying and imagine that same experience but with God hugging you.