Absolutely Delighted
With major stresses in recent weeks, the word “delight” is not one I would use to describe my feelings or actions. It has been quite easy to dwell inwardly – focused on all that is going wrong. It is a trap that our adversary uses to bring us down and get us to lose hope.
The word delight brings about pictures such as pleasure, happiness, and joy. When we delight in something or someone we should be in our happy place.
At certain times in our lives, however, delight does not come easy. When the bills mount up or a marriage falls apart, when a loved one receives a bad diagnosis or an elderly parent fails, the word delight is not typically on our brains.
Yet, in the challenging times of life, delight is exactly what we need. Great things happen when we take the focus off ourselves and put it on our Heavenly Father. Our perspective changes. Our situation doesn’t necessarily change as sometimes God needs us to walk through challenging times to grow and minister to others; but taking time to delight in the Lord helps bring hope and healing to our lives.
In the book of Isaiah, we hear the following:
“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10a NIV)
No matter what is going on our lives, we have reason to rejoice in our Lord because He has provided us with a means of salvation that nothing on this earth can take away from us. That in itself, is a great reason to have delight.
Yes, some days in this world, life is less than stellar. We make a choice in how we deal with that. I know that personally, in these past traumatic weeks, I haven’t always made good choices. I let despair and worry take hold way more than I should have. I grumbled over difficult circumstances and was terse in some of my interactions when the stress was getting overwhelming.
It is very helpful to come back to this verse in Isaiah. It is my soul that rejoices in all that God has done for me. That is immensely restorative to consider. No matter what trouble comes my way, I have the absolute assurance that my eternal destiny is sealed. God has promised us that when we believe in Jesus as Lord and Saviour, we will spend eternity with Him in heaven. Surface things cannot harm me for my soul is preserved and safe with our Lord.
The word “delight” is used often in Scripture. It is a great word that encourages us to bigger and better things.
Whatever you are facing today, I pray that you take some time to truly delight in our Lord who loves you beyond measure and who never leaves you.
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