The other day as I was sitting at the kitchen counter, my little one starting dancing around the house. At 2.5 years old, she’s bursting with energy and doesn’t need music to break out her little dance moves. And every time she does, it just makes my heart smile. No matter what day I am having, it makes me smile. And as I watched her dance and prance around to an imaginary song, I was reminded of the verse in Zephaniah 3:17,
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (NIV)
He Delights In You
In the same way that my heart was delighting over my little one dancing around, God’s heart delights in us. And in the same way that my heart delighted over watching her do something simple and fun (she’s 2.5 years old, not a professional dancer, so think arms and legs flailing all over the place kinda dancing!), God delights over us in the simplest of things.
God doesn’t require us to earn His love or approval. He is not a god who sets out a task list for us to tick off before we can access His love. No. God is the truest definition of pure, selfless love and affection. His love for us is unconditional, endless, and eternal.
He Loves You
In Psalm 86:15, King David writes, “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” (NIV) God’s love is different to our love. As much as we try to love like God, we can never measure up to His love. There is nothing we can do to deserve it or earn it. It is given to us as a gift from a loving Heavenly Father.
When God sent His one and only son, Jesus, to die for our sins on the cross, He did so knowing that many would reject or deny Him. John 3:16 tells us that God so loved the world. It doesn’t say God so loved those that believed in Him, or those that loved Him back. It says God so loved the world, meaning each and every single one of us.
He Won’t Stop Loving You
In the same way that we can’t make God love us, we can’t make Him stop loving us. In Romans 8:38-39, this is what Paul tells us:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Nothing. As you read this, He is delighting in you and pouring His love out to you. We don’t always feel it, and sometimes we don’t receive it, but I believe that God continuously offers His love to us. He is ever seeking us, longing to bring us closer to Himself so that we can know His love more.
Delight In Him
In the same way that I delight in watching my little one dance, I should be delighting in God’s love for me. We should make time to delight in His love for us. To worship Him and adore Him. To praise Him and magnify His name. And to sit at His feet in awe and wonder at the revelation that He desires a relationship with us. God, Creator of the universe, loves us and wants us to know Him more. So today, take a moment and delight in God’s love for you. And know that He is delighting in you, always.
Reflection
How do you delight in God’s love for you?
