The Lord Delights in You

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to Beyond Sunday and Day22 of Anchored in God's
Promises.
If you've been journeyingthrough this series from the
beginning, you've probablynoticed how each verse we've
studied has shown a differentside of God's heart, his
presence, his provision, hisfaithfulness, even his strength.
But today's verse shows ussomething that's honestly hard
for many of us to believe.
God doesn't just put up withyou, he delights in you.

(00:23):
It's found in Zephaniah three17.
The Lord your God is with you,the mighty warrior who saved.
He will take great delight inyou, in his love.
He will no longer rebuke you,but will rejoice over you With
singing.
The promise begins with thepresence.
The Lord your God is with you.
This isn't the distant, far offpresence of a ruler who doesn't

(00:45):
know your name.
This is a personal God who drawsnear, who stays, who walks with
his people.
Honestly, it's easy to imagineGod with the world in general,
but much harder to believe He'swith me specifically.
But this verse makes itpersonal.
Your God is with you.
That means right now whetheryou're driving, walking, or
sitting quietly, he is righthere.

(01:07):
Next, Zephaniah calls him themighty warrior who saves this,
paints a picture of God as bothtender and powerful.
He's not a passive observer.
He's a warrior who fights forhis people in Israel's history,
God continually rescued them outof slavery through battles from
exile, and for this and and forus.

(01:27):
His ultimate act of saving wasthrough Jesus conquering sin and
death on our behalf.
When you feel under attack,whether by temptation,
discouragement, or spiritualopposition, remember, your God
is not weak.
He is mighty to save.
Here's where it gets reallypersonal.
The verse says, he will takegreat delight in you.

(01:48):
Let that sink in.
God delights in you, not in somefuture version of you who has it
all together.
Not in a cleaned up version ofyour past.
He delights in you today as youare.
For many of us, this is hard tobelieve.
We can imagine God toleratingus.
We can imagine God forgiving us,maybe even using us, but

(02:10):
delighting in us, rejoicing overus.
That feels foreign, but this ishis heart.
Just like a parent delight intheir child, not because the
child is perfect, but simplybecause they're theirs.
God delights in you because youbelong to him.
The verse ends with an image sobeautiful, it almost feels

(02:31):
impossible.
It says He will rejoice over youwith singing.
Picture that for a moment.
The God who created the galaxiesis singing over you, not just
commanding angels, not justorchestrating history, singing
over your life, over your story.
If you've.
Ever sung over a baby to calmthem or watch someone light up

(02:54):
when their favorite song comeson.
You've caught a glimpse of thistruth.
God's love for you is notmechanical, it's musical, it's
expressive, it's joyful.
A woman in our church once toldme, I've never believed God
could actually delight to me.
I've always felt like I was justdisappointing him.
But then she began readingverses like Zephaniah three 17

(03:14):
and Romans chapter eight, andslowly her view shifted.
She said, I realize that whenGod looks at me, he sees Jesus
covering me.
And because he delights in hisson, he delights in me too.
That realization changed herwhole prayer life from
approaching God and shame to nowapproaching him with joy.

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Maybe that's the shift that youneed today as well.
So here's your challenge today.
Take a few minutes and imagineGod is singing over your life.
It might feel awkward at first.
But visualize it, hear hisvoice.
Not harsh or disappointed, butjoyful and strong and full of
love.
And then write down thissentence.

(03:57):
God delights in me.
Say it with me.
God delights in me.
Read it a few times until itmoves from your head to your
heart.
Let's pray.
Father, thank you that you arenot just with us, not just
saving us, but rejoicing overus.
Thank you.
Thank you that you actuallydelight in us.

(04:18):
Not because we're perfect, butbecause we are yours.
Help us to believe this promisetoday and let it change the way
we walk, pray and live in Jesus'name.
Amen.
Hey, thank you for joining metoday on day 22 of Anchored in
God's promises.
This verse spoke to you.
Share it with someone whostruggles to believe that God
could actually delight in them.

(04:39):
They might need this truth morethan you know.
I'll see you back here tomorrow.