Do You Believe God Delights In You?
A friend of mine was going through a rough time. Her family had just moved to Arkansas. She felt alone, bitter, and angry that she was once again being moved away from her house, friends, and job. She had to start over and the fact of the matter was that she didn’t want to. She was asking, “God, where are you in this circumstance? Why haven’t you heard my cries? Are you really there?”
On her first Sunday at the church her family was trying out, the preacher taught on Zephaniah 3:17. It was through that passage that she felt God lean in and say, “This is my lullaby for you.”
God was with her all along, even when she couldn’t feel His presence. This verse has been referred to as God’s lullaby to His people many times throughout the years. These words declare who God is and His great love for His people. You may be saying to yourself, “That’s sweet and all, but there is no way God delights in me or rejoices over me. If He truly knows the things I’ve done, He can’t love me.”
God gave these words to the prophet Zephaniah when God called him to warn the people of Judah of their sin and rebellious ways. The people of Judah were God’s chosen people, the Israelites. They had continuously been living a life of rebellion, failing to trust in God and His promises, and been led by ungodly leaders and corrupt priests. They had been warned to turn from their sin time and time again and never accepted the warning or corrected their behavior, yet God still loved them and pursued them.
God does not turn His back on us, we turn our backs on Him. He is continuously with us, and He is our Mighty Warrior who is always on the ready to rescue us. Just with a call of His name He is running to save. Delight means a high degree of pleasure or enjoyment, joy, or rapture. I found myself asking, “What do I delight in?” There is very little that I could list that I find true delight in. My friend, I am here to tell you that God finds delight in you. It doesn’t matter what you have done in your past or how many times you have ran from His warnings, He finds pleasure in you. He created you and He finds His creation to be perfect.
Zephaniah was telling the people that when they turn their face to God in obedience and repentance, God is there with open arms. He has always been there; they were the ones that weren't searching for Him.
The verse goes on to say that God will quiet us with His love. When I read these verses, my mind immediately goes to my anxiety and worry. My worry is endless. I worry when my sin has been brought to the light. I worry when I think I have disappointed someone. I worry about how I raise my children. I worry about if I am good enough or not. I worry, worry, worry. When I worry, I feel like I am flailing around like a fish out of water, I’m uncontrollable. This is when God swoops in and quiets me with His love. He gives me a sense of peace and comfort. His love is trustworthy and with that comes quiet and stability.
When the thought comes into our minds that we could not be a delight to God, I want us to picture Him rejoicing over us. What a beautiful picture that is. When my babies were little and they would cry as I put them down for a nap, all I wanted was some peace and quiet. They would cry and I would simply want them to go to sleep. I would still look over that crib with love and adoration. I would sing sweet lullabies to them until they fell fast asleep. We may be living life like crying babies, being rebellious and struggling with every aspect of our lives, but God is looking upon us and rejoicing over us in singing.
There is no pit we can be in that is too deep that God’s love will not be with us. He goes into the pit with us and pulls us out with delight, quieting us with His love, and rejoicing over us. He is always there.
Digging Deeper:
How do you try to hide from God because you feel like you have disappointed Him?
How does it make you feel to know that God delights in you?
Who do you know that needs to hear that God is rejoicing over them no matter the pit they are in?