Being a Delight to God

We desire to be a delight, thus give great joy, to those we love .. how are we a delight to our heavenly Father?

The Creator of all, the heavenly Father, possesses all things, so what do we give Him? Delight. How? By walking according to the wisdom He gives us (not the wisdom of the world), and letting Him establish our steps by that wisdom. Micah 6:8

When we seek, listen and obey our heavenly Father’s wisdom in our lives, it creates a life of joy, peace, happiness, rest, blessing, and love. When we are abiding in this state it greatly delights God. His delight is seeing us in pure delight. Proverbs 16:20, Matthew 6:33 His Spirit manifests the perfect loving Father to us in every way.

My step-daughter moved in at the beginning of the year. Since she has been here, she has been absorbing and walking by the truths we’ve taught her about how to live; all in accordance with true wisdom from above. James 3:13-18 The results of her heeding our words have already started to bear beautiful fruit in her life. The exceedingly great joy for me and my husband is to see her abiding and growing in joy and true happiness that flows from those truths. Could parents desire anything more than for a soul, who is brought under their wings, to be listening and following the wisdom of true life and abiding in the abundant good fruit it produces? For this is to abide in the presence of God.

Numbers 14:8 “If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’

In a similar manner, the heavenly Father experiences delight in us. The wisdom He calls us to seek and abide in creates a life of satisfaction, peace, meaning, and love. Thus, when we follow this wisdom, it not only honors Him as our Father whom we obey, but our obedience shows we trust and love Him. John 15:10, John 14:15, 1 John 5:3 When our lives are a reality of delights of a pure heart, that gives Him great joy. The result is praise He desires, not contrived or forced, and the worship (loving and honoring Him) He desires, in spirit and truth.

God desires us to be in the fullness of joy, which we do by following His commandments/wisdom of pure love. Matthew 25:23, John 15:11

Proverbs 11:20 Those who are of a perverse heart are an abomination to the Lord, But the blameless in their ways are His delight.

To manifest this joy in our lives, the heavenly Father allows our situations to correct us when we are straying off the path of righteousness. Walking counter to the truth, which establishes love, creates pain and suffering. The pain and suffering are there to “tell” us to stop doing whatever is causing the pain (this can take deep reflection, seeking, and listening as the lies are many and layered) and seek His wisdom so we can experience peace and joy, thus experience Him in our lives.

Proverbs 3:12 For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

Jeremiah 9:24 But let him who glories glory in this, That he understands and knows Me, That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the Lord.

We are to diligently seek the heavenly Father’s wisdom, which is the understanding of how to love Him, ourselves and others. Proverbs 3:15-16, 4:6, 16:16  This wisdom to be the guide to all our thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10:5 It entails thinking and acting in honor, mercy, justice, trustworthiness, honesty, grace, humility, peace, and loving kindness.

We seek understanding to the nature of these characteristics, but how they play out in each moment, we trust God to direct. We don’t rely on our understanding for the moment because we are not all knowing, but we trust His prompting in the moment that applies His wisdom to our situations. It isn’t about gaining wisdom, then running our lives. It’s about gaining understanding of the spirit of God, wisdom, and letting Him govern our lives by that wisdom.  Jeremiah 10:23, Proverbs 3:5-6

Psalm 147:10-11 He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He takes no pleasure in the legs of a man. The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, In those who hope in His mercy.

This humbling of ourselves to our heavenly Father’s will is letting Him establish our righteousness and be our righteousness. This is also what it means to “accept Christ into our heart”. It means to let the word of God, Christ, govern our heart (the seat of our desires) in every way. It’s to move out of lies and deceit (mankind’s wisdom governing our heart) and let His truth establish our present reality as He wills. Thus we cultivate a very personal and intimate engagement with our God inside out.

Righteousness, love, and holiness are views of God from three different angles.

In righteousness all actions are done correctly. Love is what walking in righteousness looks like. When you walk in righteousness, you create an environment that is extremely loving to all. Righteousness, which creates love, makes the environment  holy because where true love is that is where God is because He is love.

Seek to be one in whom God delights.