“He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me—he greatly delights in me” (Ps.18:19, Zeph.3:17). “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
Dear Jesus, we love you only because you first loved us. That is bottom line and core Gospel reality. But to delight in you—that is a special place of freedom and joy requiring the work of the Spirit and our glad surrender. Delighting in you… what an image and invitation: Not a polite, hands-folded, “respectful,” sleepy, offends-no-one knowledge of you; but an unfiltered, unfettered, unrestrained relationship with you born out of your delight in us.
We love to delight—and it is to your glory that we experience and express delight. We delight in our grandchildren—getting in body positions, wearing things, and making sounds that would otherwise embarrass us. We delight in our pets, fly fishing, and meals we savor with dear friends. We delight in Montana skies, Maine lobsters, Vermont Smallmouth, and Northwoods rhubarb pie.
These, and all good gifts, flow from you, Jesus. Thank you. But free us to experience our greatest delight is in you—not just in what you give us. For you don’t just satisfy us, Jesus; you are the whole feast, orchestra, oxygen, and meaning of life. Your love doesn’t just give us life, it is “better than life” (Ps. 63:3). Make that more than a verse we quote; make it a reality we live.
The “place of safety” to which you have led us in the Gospel is now our permanent address—”in Christ.” In union with you, we have everything we need, and more than we can imagine or hope. You are the deepest desire of our heart; become our heart’s greatest delight. So Very Amen.