Lord, I delight in you

The Lord takes delight in his people. 

“Lord, I am overwhelmed by these words.   I know that you made me.   I can even accept that you love me because you love everything you made.   But to hear that you take delight in me?   That’s more than I ever expected!   It’s such a personal claim.   You look into my eyes—into my very heart—and you delight in what you see.   You look past my sins.   You look beyond my fears and anxieties.   You see the goodness that you have placed in me.   You see my desire to do the right thing.   You see the love in my heart, even when I cannot see it.   And all of this brings you great joy.

“Lord, your words dispel the dark cloud that hangs over me.   For so many years, I have tried to be pleasing to you.   For so long, I have worried that I am not good enough or holy enough or humble enough to win your approval.   But here, now, with these words before me, I see that I was worrying about nothing.   I see now that your love is not based on my performance or anything that I have done.   It’s based on you and your heart of mercy and tenderness.

“Lord, thank you that you delight in me in the way that an earthly father delights in his child.   All you have to do is look at me, and your heart melts.   You hear me call for help, and you rush to my side to give me your comfort and your grace.   You teach me as a father teaches his child—sometimes with words and other times with actions.   Because you delight in me, you never focus only on my shortcomings.   You know how my life needs to change, but you never lose sight of how much I have already changed, how much I already reflect your goodness and kindness.

“Lord, I see that you delight in me, and that makes me want to love you in return.   It makes me want to live a life worthy of your love.   It makes me want to become a witness to other people of how good and pleasant it is to live under your mercy.

-word among us