GOD DELIGHTS IN YOU!

GOD DELIGHTS IN YOU!

Prov 3:11-12

11 My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord ; neither be weary of his correction:

12 For whom the Lord  loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.

Heb 12:6

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

           I observed a grandmother with an infant grandson the other day. The only way to describe the look on her face was delight. She delighted in this grandson. She took note of all his features from his tiny fingers to his little bald spot where the hair had been slept away in the crib. My wife says that the first thing a new mother does is to count fingers and toes. The eye can hardly get enough of the tiny life in her arms.

           In the same way, God delights in us. This is in stark contrast to what we generally think when God is trying to teach us a lesson by chastening us. We see him as a stern judge with harsh and unbending rules that are impossible to keep but the opposite is actually true.

           The word delight is set in the midst of correction. In fact it is the reason for correction. We are corrected because he delights in us. Interestingly, the Hebrew word for delight here is ratsah which carries with it the satisfying of a debt. God delighted in us so much that He sent His Son Jesus as the satisfaction for our debt. The debt is paid because He delights in us. The debt is paid so that He can continue delighting in us.

Thank you Lord, for delighting in me. Help me to feel your love even when you are in the process of chastening me. AMEN