Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

Yes, God Really Does

PSALM 35:27 – Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

 

THEME OF THE DAY:  YES, GOD REALLY DOES.  It is an overwhelming thought. It is a confidence building thought.  It is a faith building thought.  It is a love producing thought, and it is a thought vehemently attacked by the roaring lion, the malicious devil.  It is the last words in today’s scripture – Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant.

 

Before you read on, stop and think about it. The Creator who becomes Redeemer and needs absolutely nothing to satisfy Himself, has chosen to delight in a people who by birth, hate Him, run from Him, want nothing to do with Him, and are under His just wrath.  Is there anything more thrilling to the soul, knowing how often we have failed, are failing, and will fail the Lord, that He will never not take delight in us?  And today’s verse isn’t the only declaration of such love and favor.  Meditate on the following verses from the Psalms.

 

He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me (Psalm 18:19).

 

By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me (Psalm 41:11).

 

His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love (Psalm 147:10-11).

 

It should be obvious why the devil would attack such truth in the Christian.  If he, by his accusations and crafty schemes, is able to create doubt in us of God’s delight in us, we will be ineffective witnesses for the Lord Jesus and His Gospel.  Think about it.  If we are not assured of God’s love, and thus His delight in us, we will lack the confidence in our witnessing.  Christians lacking assurance are timid, fearful, and will rarely, if at all, share the Gospel and the Christ of the Gospel.  They simply live under a dark cloud of doubt that spiritually paralyzes them.  And how would the devil get us in this position?  His chief tactic is to draw our attention to our performances as Christians (always fluctuating) more than our position in Christ (never changing).  Now would be a good time to recommend a really good book that masterfully addresses this critical issue in the Christian life. Its title is Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love by Jerry Bridges. Chapter one is worth the price of the book, though the whole book is gold, and is under the heading The Performance Treadmill.

 

Friends, let’s ask God to increase our faith to believe His Word that He truly delights in us.  He does so not because of what we have done, do or don’t do. He delights in us for His Namesake, for His Son’s sake, and it is His character to do so – God is love.  Rejoice.  He really does take delight in us! Really.

 

PRAYER: “Father, help me not to listen to the lies of the devil when he tells me You don’t delight in me.”

 

QUOTE: “Believe God’s Word more than feelings and whispers of the devil.  He is truth. All others are lies.”

 

In the affection of Christ Jesus,

 

Pastor Jim