God is amazingly loving and kind and gracious. He is deeply affectionate towards his people. He has set his heart upon us and simply will not be deflected from the outpouring of his love (Deuteronomy 10: 15). He sets us apart for his own possession. There is joy, a pleasure, enjoyment and a delight that the Lord finds in us. This is mirrored in the face of Jesus Christ and the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
We are in the process of learning how to reciprocate the same pleasure towards him that we receive from him. The testimonies that we have of his affection empower us to walk with him in a manner consistent with his nature. When we know what God is truly like, then we can walk with him in the beauty of who he is for us. My testimony is that the Lord is the kindest person I’ve ever known. He has been relentlessly kind to me for many, many years. My heart is now settled into a routine based on his disposition towards me.
David wrote a special song (2 Samuel 22) in the day that he was completely delivered from the hands of all his enemies. My favorite verse in this song is verse 20, he also brought me forth into a broad place. He rescued me, because he delighted in me. Davids’s songs were always his testimony of who God was for him (Psalm 119: 24). They brought the necessary wisdom that he could draw upon in other times of trouble.
We partner with God’s delight. It is a vital part of our worship and our objectivity in life. It is like fitting two pieces of wood together. The measurements are precise so that the joint is both pure and strong. Handcrafted work has a harmony to it that is unbreakable. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2: 10) and the craftsmanship requires an excellence of execution.
Harmony involves both parties giving themselves to a divinely established relationship. There is however a hierarchy in harmony. The Lord always initiates, and we always respond. He has the preeminence because he is always first to initiate. When the Lord gives his word, he expects that we would receive it with great delight and hold onto that word in our heart with utmost affection (Psalm 40: 8). We remain in constant agreement; Like- minded with the Lord in his consistency. Harmony in delight is unity with affection.
Whenever our hearts are overwhelmed by anxieties it is God’s delight in us that releases the necessary and valuable comfort (Psalms 94: 19). Delight begets delight. There is a high degree of pleasure in all the Lord’s interactions with us. The father is greatly pleased about Jesus. In putting us into Christ, he has joyfully made us vulnerable and susceptible to his delight. He loves us as he loves his son Jesus.
Delight is one of the chief expressions of his heart towards us in Christ. Whenever we see the words gladness, joy, cheer, rejoice, glory in, and delight; it is always expressive of his pleasure in us and the deep love he has for his involvement with us.
Life in Christ is to be fundamentally enjoyed! We delight in our interaction with Jesus. We rejoice in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are captivated by the Lord because he has captured our hearts. Each day then brings a fresh determination to abide in his joy and delight. To allow ourselves every day to be touched afresh by his joy in us.
We bring that same harmony and delight into all our conflicts. Caleb was a man of a different spirit (numbers 14: 24) because he could bring harmony and delight onto the battlefield. If the Lord is pleased with us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us-only do not rebel against the Lord or fear these people, for they will be our prey. The Lord is with us! (Numbers 14: 8-9). He understood the value of conforming our hearts to God’s essential nature.
Partnering with delight enables us to realize the dreams and desires that God has for us (psalm 37:4). When we connect with his delight in us, then we rejoice in all that he becomes towards us. His delight is the platform for our worship. When we have a revelation that we are his beloved then we behave as one wonderfully loved. We act in harmony with his affection.
Finding the true place of harmony in his affection and pleasure provides us with a broad place in which to live securely in his love and to have an expectation of his favor in all circumstances.
It is time to sit quietly before the Lord with no agenda other than to hear his words of pleasure and delight over you. You are the beloved in Christ; Therefore, you are worthy of love and affection. Put away low self-esteem and poor self-worth. They all belong to the old you and therefore you are dead to them. Be alive to God’s heart for you.