Delight for the Undelightful
“The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” ~Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
Zephaniah 3:17 paints a picture of a Father who finds so much delight in his children that he breaks into song. As a recovering performance junkie and avid people pleaser, I always believed that love and delight were earned or achieved. But nothing has taught me more about the depths of that lie than being a mother.
Sitting dockside watching my boys splash and play in the river, I am overwhelmed by a deep sense of delight in my kids. The delight wells up not from what they are doing, but rather it is rooted in who they are.
I’ve had other moments like this where the immense delight over my sons instills a pause to breathe in deep these moments of joy: moments like staring down at my nursing newborn who still had the smell of heaven on his skin or a good curl up snuggle in the still of the morning. Even watching my boys enjoy the activities that spark their passion causes my heart to smile deep.
These small, ordinary moments share one thing in common: in that instant my children are completely unaware of my delight.
This delight doesn’t come from what they have achieved or their ability to make good choices or all of the other things the world would deem worthy of a gold star. These ordinary, simple pleasures produce a delight that comes from this simple truth: I delight in them because they are my kids.
Which begs the question, “What makes us think our heavenly father thinks any differently about us?” How often are we unaware of the delight our father has in us?
In Zephaniah’s time, God’s kids lived as if they were unaware of God altogether let alone his delight. If judged by their deeds, the city of Jerusalem would be deemed unlovable and unworthy. They were a rebellious city. They neither trusted the Lord nor listened to his voice. Still, even in their wandering, God’s love for his children never changed. And while the Israelites faced judgment and hardship as a result of their hearts’ idolatry, the heart of a righteous God was always for restoration. He didn’t rejoice over the Israelites because they earned it but because of his great love for his kids. Similarly, we can’t earn God’s delight; we can only rest in his love.
My heart is for you, daughter of the king who needs to hear this today:
On your best and worst day, God delights in you.
Whether you’re achieving great things or feel like you have no purpose, He rejoices over you with singing.
And the truth is, God not only loves you, but he likes you too.
Not because of what you achieve or what you are able to do for him, but he delights in you today simply because you are his kid.
Written by:Alicia Stickles