“The Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” — Psalm 147:11 (NIV84)

Throughout Psalm we see the connectedness of hope with God’s unfailing love. We hope in the Lord because He promises not to fail us. He promises that all things will work to the good. He promises to make bad situations good. He promises to love us no matter what. These are just a few of the reasons we place our hope in Him. I have addressed this more extensively in other passages in the psalms. The thought I would like us to ponder today is the Lord’s delighting in us. Yep! I didn’t say judge, criticize, or condemn. I said delight! There are times when God delights in us. There are times when we make Him smile. These are the times when our relationship with Him is closest to what it was for Adam and Eve before the Fall. He delights in us when we are hoping and trusting in His unfailing love. He loves it when we defy our eyes of sight and completely trust in Him with our eyes of faith.

Satan, the world, and our sinful nature would not have us believe in such a God. They would attempt to convince us to see with our eyes of sight. They would want us to be so buried in the circumstances we are in that we wouldn’t even think of God’s love and faithfulness. But this is not the way that God would have it. He wants us to know that He delights in our faith walk. He delights in hope and trust in His unfailing love. This is the side of God I need to focus on more often. Read the verse one more time. Can’t you feel the Spirit of God moving in your heart when you think of God delighting in you? One of my favorite pictures of Jesus is one of Him laughing. This verse has just given that picture new meaning.

Let’s spend some time today pondering how God delights in us.

Peace!

Pastor Tom

www.firmlyrooted.church