"The Delight of God"

Have you ever thought about God delighting in you? Maybe our picture of God is this harsh, unrelenting Father, sitting there waiting for you to mess up so He can slap you down!? People think so many things of God and I am afraid it is the preachers who bend our minds and hearts to seeing who He really is. God is a just God! He is the Almighty! He does not look upon sin favorably! He does not tolerate straight out rebellion on the part of His children! He will discipline those He loves by bringing pain into their lives! All of these things are part of love and holiness. We just do not understand God very well because we do not look to Him and His ways many times. We are too busy skimming the Scriptures with fleshly thinking and ideas.

One thing we need to know about God is that He delights in forgiving us! Yes, you heard me right. He delights in forgiving. Not only does God offer an abundance of forgiveness, (we don't believe that either at times), He offers it with great delight! Listen carefully and accept it: "Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in unchanging love." (Micah 7:18) Why does God pardon? Because it is His delight to have this unchanging love. Notice Micah praises God, not for His creation but for the delight He has in His love to forgive.

Sometimes people think delight is a lot like joy! Joy is a much deeper word in the Hebrew and Greek than delight. Delight is more of a surface emotion. The Hebrew word "delight" is really stressing God's emotional involvement in forgiving. In other words, it thrills God to extend His forgiveness to the confessed sinner!! There is the joy in heaven, but it "delights" Him to forgive.

I can remember my son, when he hit his first home run as a kid playing little league baseball. That ball travelled past the outfielders in the air and I want you to know that my son "delighted" in that home run. It was all he talked about for weeks on end. That is similar to how God reacts when He extends forgiveness! The prodigal that came home (Luke 15) and the father immediately went into banquet mode because of the delight of his sons return. The young lady, who just received that engagement ring, flashes that ring in delight with an excited smile! It's what a father feels when someone speaks to him about his children on their conduct and respect. We father's delight in hearing that. It thrills us to no end. Well, that's how God feels to extend His lovingkindness and forgiveness.

If we would only realize our unconfessed sins are destroying us and making us miserable, while God is wanting, desiring and waiting to offer to us His forgiveness. If we would only give Him the opportunity to forgive us by being honest and humble, to confess our sins, He would "delight" to forgive us. Why are we so reluctant? Do we love our sins more than the God of all grace who delights in forgiveness? Maybe that is what we need to ask ourselves!