This is what God delights in…
What do you think about when you think about God?
Do you feel love and acceptance? Shame and embarrassment? The temptation to run away, to show off your accomplishments, to question your Creator, or to prove yourself worthy?
To understand the context of today’s verse, we need to read two verses:
“His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor His delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
Psalm 147:10-11 NIV
God is not after earthly strength. It’s not about who’s the strongest, bravest, richest, smartest, or who has the most social media followers. It’s not even about who has the most consistent church attendance or YouVersion streak. If you want to please God, it’s pretty simple:
“… the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.”
God loves you unconditionally, but He also delights in you. Not because you’re perfect, or because you never mess up, or because you’re constantly faithful—no one is. This verse tells us that God delights in you as you fear Him—you acknowledge He’s God with a holy respect for His power, and you put your ultimate hope in His unfailing love.
During this season of Advent, a time of reflection, contemplate who God is. Reflect on His power and His love. Then, devote some time in this season to worship God for who He is and align your heart with His.
Live Prepared
Pause and think of the people who, at a moment’s notice, have to be ready for anything. Maybe your list includes first responders, the military, athletes, teachers, parents, pilots, surgeons, or pastors.
But does your list include you?
As followers of Jesus, we are called to…
“…Be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.”
1 Peter 3:15 NIV
We can’t expect people to observe what Jesus has commanded unless we are also observing His commands ourselves.
Do we want people to learn about God’s love? Then we need to show God’s love to people. Do we want people to learn about Jesus’ compassion? Then we need to be compassionate. Do we want people to give generously? Then we need to be good stewards of our own money. Do we want people to study God’s Word? Then we need to study it for ourselves.
When you give Jesus control over your life, you allow His ...