God Delights in You

Did you just read that title, say "uh-huh" and move on? That's what I usually do. I often read things like that and think "oh, I know that already." But then I lay awake at the end of each day and think about all the ways I failed and didn't measure up (to my own standards) and I forget all about what I "know."

God delights in us so much that He sent His son, He died for us, and as if that weren't enough, He dwells with us and in us if we've accepted His loving delight.

Why? Because I've done all the right things and said the right things and been good? No, because He is good. Because He delights in me and calls me His own. And I break His heart when I turn away from His love and accept my own frustration and feelings of failure.

As I want to weep at my failure at night, in the dark, He stands beside me whispering "I'm with you." Never will my Bridegroom leave me or forsake me. I am the one that turns away. I am the one who forgets. I am the ant carrying a grain of rice on my back, thinking I am alone.

I have been encouraged today to remember that my God delights in me. He stands by me. He loves me. And no matter how my day has been, these are the things my mind should dwell on each night, for they are eternal and true, not the result of mistaken expectations or standards. These truths will help me stand against the trials of life, against the enemy of my soul and against the unrelenting judgments of myself. In the storm, I will chose to hear "I'm with you."