Eric Liddell was a British Olympic Gold Medalist runner, Scottish rugby union international player, and Christian missionary well known for saying the title of this post. John Piper, a noted theologian, pastor and teacher wrote a book called, “The Pleasures of God.” What does the Bible say about DELIGHTS in the heart of the Almighty?
The Hebrew and Greek word have the same meaning; delight or pleasure mean “to take a high degree of pleasure or mental satisfaction in.” When the Bible speaks of pleasing God, it is rather astonishing that a human being can give delight to their Creator. We tend to expect this to work the other way around yet there are many verses that express how God delights in blessing those who delight in Him:
The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in this Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 30:9–10)
He is not interested in rituals or our strengths and abilities, only in the worship and service we do in His strength and in obedience to His voice.
And Samuel said, “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. (1 Samuel 15:22)
His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love. (Psalm 147:10–11)
He is delighted with blameless ways, faithfulness and humility in us. He also delights to do His will, such as choosing people to belong to Him and serve Him. Further, He delights in blessing us with abundant lives, particularly as we love and obey Him with all our hearts:
Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad and say evermore, “Great is the Lord, who delights in the welfare of his servant!” (Psalm 35:27)
God’s most obvious delight is having a personal relationship with us. He says that in both OT and NT and revealed it in the most obvious way by sending Jesus to make that relationship possible. He also expressed it many other ways:
You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the Lord delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. (Isaiah 62:3–5)
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. I know that nothing I do is delightful in the sight of God apart from the Son of God who died for me and lives in me. I can say with the prophet, “Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of Your inheritance? You do not retain Your anger forever, because You delight in steadfast love.” (Micah 7:18) God delights in whatever matches His will and rightfully so — only His will is perfection; only He is perfection and the worthy source of joy. He is pleased to bless us because this is who He is. He is pleased when I do righteously because righteousness is worthy of His pleasure. He works in me to want that kind of life and to live it. But most amazing is that when this God who lives in me and walks with me is pleased, He allows me to feel His pleasure. As Eric Liddell said and Romans 7:22 says, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being” because for me, walking with Jesus results in experiencing a joy that is beyond description.
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