This has been a rough year for our family. My husband and I who are never sick, have had quite the sick spells this year. He had a near death illness in May and I followed him in June, July, and August. It has been quite the year- one I hope never to repeat. Growing old is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Of course, most of it is our fault. Brought on by many years of health neglect. My motto has always been “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, but regular maintenance would have been good. We certainly paid the price for that neglect this year.
The one great thing about growing older is the Grand-babies. What a special blessing from the Lord. Nothing brings joy to the day like a visit from those precious tyrants. We have an 18 month old, and the minute she sees us, she squeals with joy and rushes to us to be picked up. If that don’t trip your trigger, you aren’t alive. I could just squeeze her to pieces. We are so unbelievable spending hours entertaining her, trying to make her laugh. She is so unbelievably cute and precious. She expects us to dote on her and we do. To say we delight in her is just too simple. She brings us great joy and gladness.
I was thinking the other day, as much we delight in our granddaughter, how much more God delights in us. Psalms 147:11 says, God delights in those who reverence Him and trust Him and put their hope in His unfailing love. He delights in His children. What a great verse. He wants to spend time with us. When we acknowledge our shortcomings and failings, He delights in us. When we need Him, He delights in us. When I hear that He delights in us it makes me think He takes joy in us. What a great thought. As much as I take joy in my grand-babies, God takes more joy in us.
Zephaniah 3:17 says He is a mighty Savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs. When I am around our granddaughter I find myself singing all kinds of Christian songs to her- Jesus Loves Me, 1, 2, 3 Jesus Loves Me, Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes, and other songs we used to sing in Children’s church. I want her to know she is so very much loved. When it says He will rejoice over you with joyful songs, it warms my heart to think of God rejoicing over me with joyful songs.
To take delight in something means to gain great pleasure, satisfaction and happiness. To think God, the creator of all the universe, gains great pleasure, satisfaction and happiness over us. That is mind blowing. As His children, let’s spend time with Him as much as we can so we can bring Him joy and we can become more like Him.
He delights in us. I often question though, do I delight in Him? There are times, probably more than I care to admit, and I hate to admit it, hard to get in the attitude of morning devotions. When I get aggravated at my husband, or the many tasks I face when I get up, that I don’t always delight to do my daily devotions. I have to force myself. I am so ashamed to admit this. I get so distracted by things that don’t matter, or boys that are demanding, or chores that are undone, that I have to just stop and force all these things from my brain and get down to serious talk with God. The great thing is that He understands my weakness and my human part. He knows my weakness and shortcomings, yet He delights in us.
Playing worship music will set the tone and get me into the right attitude to do my devotions. I Timothy 4:8- Train yourself for Godliness. We have to practice holy living, so if I practice having the right attitude toward slowing my mind and doing my Bible reading, it will become more and more comfortable and natural do so. I want to practice taking delight in Him. The more time I spend with Him, the more I delight in Him. I want to be able to claim the verse that says, As a deer pants after the water so my soul longs for you. (Psalm 42:1)
Today my goal is to take delight in Him and remember He takes delight in me. That is a great way to start the day, reflecting in the delight in Him and for Him.
