The Necessity of Delight
The most delightful people delight!
Delight—what a delicious word; it twirls on my tongue! It lights my imagination. It radiates warmth in my soul. The Lord flecked His canvas of creation with a brush full of delights. The earth sings witness to how delightful her Creator is; if we fail to join in her chorus, we miss the point of all these pleasantries. Do we let the wonder of creation usher us into the presence of Him, Who is most delightful?
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 ESV
Recently, I visited a younger friend struggling in her marriage. As she lamented her present relationship, the Holy Spirit impressed this verse in my mind and made it clear I should speak this truth. It seemed so trite to me, like rattling off Romans 8:28. Yet, that was God’s counsel. The following morning, my insight still felt dismissive; I needed to reflect on the verse I shared with her. As I reread Psalm 37, I marveled at God’s wisdom. Most of my friend’s desires have been God-honoring. She desires to be a faithful, loving wife and mother—a delightful spouse and parent. But I fear she covets a better marriage more than she is presently delighting in her First Love.
Covetousness is a sneaky sin that perverts blessings into idols. And when we focus and bow down to what we don’t have, we fail to delight in what we do have: an eternal relationship with the Perfect Lover of our soul. When we delight in Jesus, He releases us from the fretting fearfulness our idols inflict on us. Does it really matter if our husbands fail to love us well when we’re consumed with the perfect love of God? No.
All people love imperfectly, including you and me. All people sin. We’re all selfish failures sometimes, and yet God delights in each of us, including others who let us down.
“But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.“He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.” Deuteronomy 32:9-10 ESV.
The phrase “apple of my eye” comes from these verses, and it’s long been the expression of a deep, delightful love. Today I redeemed an old Stevie Wonder song for my worship to the Lord, singing to Him, “You are the sunshine of my life,” He replied, “You are the apple of my eye. That’s why I always stay around.” And He’s singing that to you today.
Maybe like my dear friend, you’re experiencing a difficult passage in your walk with God. Know He still delights in you. Reflect on this reality, “He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19 ESV, italics added). If you trusted Him for salvation from sin, how can you not trust Him again to deliver you out of this present trial? Keep trusting. Keep doing the right thing. Keep your integrity. He promises good results. This excerpt from The NET Bible refreshed my perspective on delight.
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right.
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity.[e]
4 Then you will take delight in the Lord,[f]
and he will answer your prayers.[g]
5 Commit your future to the Lord.[h]
Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.” The NET Bible
Keep praying! He will answer. Our delight begins with obedience and ends with praise. Delighting in the Lord changes us. It transforms our prayers and desires.
Delighting in God opens our eyes to what He finds delightful in others. As we delight in Him, He transforms us into more delightful women.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV).
