The one who secretly struggles to hope. The one who has lost everything. The one who mourns. The one who is invisible. The one who is infertile. The one who is alone. The one who is broken. The one who is open. The one who is waiting. The one who aches. The one who asks. The one who cries. The one who needs.

These are the ones God sees, hears, knows, and exalts. Because He delights in them.

Thank You.

Our delight in Him is what brings peace when this world and life in it trouble us much.

Indeed, it is the only thing that truly can.

And it is the only thing that cuts through the blurriness of tear-filled vision to help us see truth again.

And the One of whom all these things are true delights in you.

Dedicated to all those facing flooding of every kind.

Our plights, struggles, limitations, and terrors are known to God. Just as He knows when or how He will provide what we need in the midst of them.

We may be understandably inclined to believe that God’s blessing and His delight in us are only connected to and dependent upon our happy-meters, when they are registering “supreme satisfaction and comfort.”

But perhaps the opposite is more accurate.

Does this mean God delights in the misery of our suffering? No. It means He finds us delight-worthy in every season and every circumstance. And He delights in giving us strength, comfort, healing, and unexplainable peace as He keeps His promises.

He has promised to stay with us. And no ferocious river current can sweep Him – or that promise – away.

Today’s passage, coming from what’s been called the invitation to the thirsty, is connected to Isaiah chapter 5 and John chapter 15, to my way of thinking.

When we are extremely thirsty and famished, we can become distraught, inconsolable until those most basic needs are met. But what if the thirst and hunger are more than physical and seep down to the soul?

A mighty yet gentle Voice must break through our frantic stupor. And when it does, our souls can rejoice in finding spirit-nourishment.

How do we become proactive and avoid reoccurance of this spiritual anorexia? By listening to His Word and feasting on it in every season, by delighting as we abide in the Vine.

May my desires align with His priorities so that His Kingdom lives in my heart and His delight fills my soul, even as He meets my every need. Amen.

A Juxtaposition

Not immediate deliverance, nor evaporation of every threat, but help and comfort in the face of what would harm us: are these not the most powerful and cherished signs of His goodness?

His help and comfort are light in the darkness, flowing from His heart that hears our prayers, as He smooths over the roughness of our imperfections and carries us in mighty arms.

God wants us to delight in His Word.

When we do delight in His Word, we start to see our neighbors – and our world – as He sees them.