It’s Sheer De-Light!

When I challenge myself to name things that delight me, it’s easy to come up with a list: my children and grandchildren who give me sweet hugs every time I see them. A sweet handwritten note on a little card from my husband. The overwhelming joy of a newborn baby. The loveliness of the fall season that is upon us. Oh, the delight of pumpkin-flavored coffee, and the golden and orange color schemes!

There’s a difference, I think, between something that makes me happy and something that delights me. “Delight” is stronger; I reserve it for something that lightens my spirit. Delight feels like a sudden shot of optimism and joy. It’s when something makes my soul say, “Hooray!”

That’s why it made me pause when I read this Psalm: “The Lord takes delight in His people” (Psalm 149:4). That means the Lord takes delight in me. In you. In every single one of us.

I’ll admit that a part of me struggles to believe this. Maybe there’s some bad theology from my past that gets in the way — holdover images of God as the enforcer, the policeman, the carrier of the big stick. Don’t I need to earn God’s love? Don’t I first need to fix all the things about me that need fixing?

But here’s the truth: I don’t. God takes delight in me, right now, just as I am. AND, He takes delight in you, too — just as you are.

What a freeing truth! We don’t need to wait until we’re ‘good enough’ or ‘fixed’ enough. Our Heavenly Father finds joy in us, not because of our perfection, but because of His perfect love for us.

So, the next time we feel weighed down by those old thoughts of inadequacy, let’s remember this: God’s love and delight in us is unwavering, and there’s nothing we need to do to earn it. Let that bring us the kind of delight that makes our souls shout, “Hooray AND Yippee!”