The Delight of God

"As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, 'This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.'" Matthew 3:16-17

Did you ever notice that God the Father speaks these words before His Son has ever "done" anything?  Jesus had not began any type of ministry, had not performed any miracles, saved any lives, asked disciples to follow Him, etc. and the Father speaks the words,"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."  Have you ever believed that the Father is well-pleased, He delights in you, and remind yourself that you did nothing for it.  Sure we have all read about it, thought about it, but have you ever believed it?

So many times we talk about obeying God, following the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, becoming more like Christ, etc. that we begin to think that our worth in the eyes of God depends on our performance.  These are all very good things in and of themselves and God does command them, but we have an interesting way of turning these commands into requirements to receive His love, His acceptance, His approval and His delight.

A few months ago, 9 to be exact a friend of mine became pregnant.  I found a card randomly that spoke to my heart and eventually hers.

"Tiny miracle, with your little baby heart beating ... everybody loves you, and we don't even know who you are."

This little card, wonderfully written (and those are hard to find!), spoke to our hearts and captures the delight that God has in us, though He knows us because He wove us together and formed us.  We who know nothing about a baby in the womb, or even before the womb love him/her, how much more does God love us who He formed, saw before the womb, in the womb and even now?

I don't know that I have any fancy or insightful answers into how we begin to believe the truth that God delights in us, but I know that His Scripture speaks this truth into my heart.  I know that family and faithful and loving friends speak this into my heart.  I know that creation speaks this into my heart.  Seeing and believing God's delight may be as simple as opening my eyes to it or it may be as painful as surgery.  Whatever the case might be, to be able to believe His delight will be great freedom and joy.