Waist Deep 2018 - March 26

Psalm 18: 19 He rescued me because he delighted in me. (NIV)

He delights to weave the adversity of our experience into his beautiful plan for our lives.*

David could have claimed that God rescued him because he deserved it. After all, David was royalty – chosen by God to be the first of a dynasty that culminated in the Messiah. He was a warrior, a shepherd, a poet, a musician, and a king; but he was also an adulterer and a murderer. Yet, David maintains that God’s favor is due to his delight in him.

Is it presumptuous to believe that the words of this Psalm apply to me as well as to David? I can’t claim to be as great a person as David, but I’m no greater (or less) a sinner, either.

Jesus, who was God in the flesh, demonstrated God’s delight in humanity. Unlike us, he found that other people were not a source of stress, but a source of joy.* Where I might find it draining to deal with people and their problems day in and day out, Jesus was energized by it - because his Father delights in us! I have done nothing to deserve it, but I know that God delights in me.

Maybe it will never be said of me, “She was a woman after God’s own heart,” but perhaps on my tombstone could be engraved these words: She was special to God.

God’s plans for us are for our benefit.*