TWO WAY DELIGHT

Delight is not a word I use a lot but it is one the Lord has brought to me recently in my bible and prayer time.

Through the word, we see times where He delights in someone and in turn, we see places where His children are delighted in Him.

It strikes me as a two-way component that I want in my relationship with the Lord.

The Lord illustrates occasions and circumstances when He delights in us.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Let not the mighty man glory in his might, Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.

This is a humble position of recognising it is not us but Him that enables us to be who we are. Recognition of Him and that it is all His and He does it with our co-labouring is something He delights in.

As I was starting this today, I yelled to my wife “look I have xxx followers on this site”. My daughter heard this and promptly yelled back “Is it you that have those followers’ dad or is it God who has them?”  Touché!

We need to be humble and recognise it is him, something we can probably all improve on and be reminded of. I suspect a truly humble position brings delight for the Lord and us, there is a peace in this position.

2 Corinthians 5:9

Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.

Wherever we are He sees, He knows and we should be aiming to be pleasing to Him.

Colossians 1:10  

that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

When we please Him then I am sure there is delight on His part as He made us to be like this. To be this person who walks a certain way. The challenge is to be like this all the time.

We fall off the rails and we don’t delight the Lord in those circumstances. We repent in our own space and where we are blessed, we have those around us to support and build us back up. Having great friends and family that are there for us is something I am sure delights the Lord.  It becomes a time when we know we can’t do it and we rely on others, we deal with our consequences but we lean on those around us and on the Lord.

Isaiah 42:1

“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

We are servants appointed by Him. He delights in us. He anoints us and appoints us so He can delight in us. Let’s act and walk in a way that delights.

Malachi 3:1

Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.

There are individuals who the Lord delights in and that is something that comes from the way we walk, act and who we are in this world.  Let’s seek to be one who delights.

And as well we can delight in Him.

Can you think of a case in recent times when something has happened and you know it is the Lord and you have been delighted. I listened to something earlier this week before I went to bed and it really touched me and hit me in the soul. That night I was wide awake at 3.00 o’clock in the morning and I got up, did communion with the Lord and had the most amazing time with the Lord. It was a time that I feel I delighted in the Lord and who He is in my life and what He has done for me. When we have a God time let’s not be afraid to delight in the Lord and to express that in whatever way it touches you.

Nehemiah 9:25
And they took strong cities and a rich land,
And possessed houses full of all goods,
Cisterns already dug, vineyards, olive groves,
And fruit trees in abundance,
So they ate and were filled and grew fat,
And delighted themselves in Your great goodness,

This is us delighting in the Lord (let’s maybe avoid the fat part!).

2 Chronicles 17:5-6

Therefore the LORD established the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah gave presents to Jehoshaphat, and he had riches and honour in abundance.

6 And his heart took delight in the ways of the LORD; moreover he removed the high places and wooden images from Judah.

The Lords ways are good ways, they are there not to be a burden but to bring us to a place where we can delight in the Lord because we understand His ways have been preparing us, bringing us to a place where we can delight in Him and enjoy what He has for us.

This verse in psalms summarise it well.

Psalm 112:1

Praise the LORD!

Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

Who delights greatly in His commandments.

2 His descendants will be mighty on earth;

The generation of the upright will be blessed.

3 Wealth and riches will be in his house,

And his righteousness endures forever.

As time passes and I have walked more with the Lord I understand His ways are there to protect me and those around me, I can enjoy the fruit He has for me and I can delight in His ways and commandments as he has shown me a more correct way than I could ever have done in my own strength.

I delight more and more in the Lord.

As I finish the Lord gives me this word.

“Those who delight in me have reached a good place that I intend for them to stay in, they can enjoy the fruits of their labour and the blessing I have for them. I wish to delight them more and more and show them the God I Am. There is a time when it may not seem good but even in these times you can delight in me because I am in all and use all to bless my children. Learn to accept both sides of the coin and to delight in the place I have you because how can anything come against you when you delight in me?”