So I got tired of listening to those pastors that tell everybody to be a delight to God without ever telling people how. It drives me up the wall. In fact, it should drive you up the wall– to be told to live your life in a way that God can take pleasure in without knowing exactly how. Better yet, it should make us mad to hear such heavy words without knowing if God takes pleasure in rule followers or rule breakers.
… but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:11 ESV) To be God’s delight means two things: first, a fear of God; and secondly, a hope or belief in His love for us. Let me explain all of that, before you start conjuring wild and unrealistic fantasies. Starting with the phrase, “fear of God,” I know you heard this curious phrase before, we will define that as an attitude of reverence in knowing where God is on the grand totem pole of things. Better defined, if that was too rough and cursory, the phrase means that we, if we have a “fear of God” treat God with the respect that He deserves from the out flowing of his love for us– that is understanding that our experience is tempered by God’s grace on our lives and therefore, our grateful response to Him. This is hard for many of us who have been hurt or badly injured by people who were supposed to be the model of God’s love and so, I would like you to see past your consequences and look toward future intentions of God, because like a loving parent, God intends good things for us, His children. So God delights in you when you delight in Him. Secondly, God finds pleasure in us when we hope He comes through for us in the best way. Not necessarily in our way, but in the way that maximizes the good in our lives. When we hope, that is to trust in God’s “steadfast love” we are actually committing ourselves to God. Simply put, God loves it when we trust Him by committing to Him. I want to remind us that in no way does this psalm indicate that God “delights” in straight arrows, or in some type of moralistic perfection. God enjoys people who freely, and willingly trust Him for who He is. What I am saying is that delighting God is not an impossibility of actions. It is rather, an attitude and mindset of intentions toward Him. We delight God by accepting God in our lives to be exactly who He says He is, and then by trusting in that. My question to us: do we delight in God so that He can delight in us? Or are we trying in vain to impress Him with unwarranted actions?
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