He Delights in ME!

"He brought me forth also into a large place;

He delivered me because He delighted in me."

Psalm 18:19

     As I look back over the past year; I'm so grateful for what God has done for me.  He has really taught me about who I am in Him.  Without Him I am nothing.  

    For some reason the above verse seems to be coming to my mind a lot.  So I figure that there's a reason and I'd better investigate.

   As I write this, 2,000 years ago Jesus was thought to be dead and gone.  Everyone has watched Him die a horrible and painful death.  The Bible says that He was totally unrecognizable as He hung on the cross.  He has voluntarily laid down His life, and His body is lying in a cold dark tomb.  Thankfully, it doesn't end there!  Jesus rose from the dead and is living today!  He has sent the Holy Spirit to comfort, direct, convict, and keep us!  

   There is a huge amount of significance in the whole event from beginning to end.  But I don't have the time nor the space to elaborate.  Let's just say that Jesus is the fulfillment of every Scripture prophecy concerning His first coming.  

   So anyway, what's that got to do with the above verse?  Well, as I looked it up and went back to the Hebrew,  (No, please don't think that I can actually read Hebrew, I'm not that good.  I just looked at an online Hebrew dictionary.) I couldn't help, but make the comparison.

   The first part of the verse, "He brought me forth also into a large place;" means (according to my understanding of that dictionary) "He led me into a place of liberty" or you could say, "He delivered me from distress".  When King David wrote this verse, he was praising God because he had been saved from his enemies and from another attempt on his life by the then king, Saul.  

   So I'm thinkin' that what Jesus did on the cross was in a sense leading me into a place of liberty.  A place that is free from distress.  Since sin is the major cause of stress, whether it's my sin or another's sin against me, I can conclude that Christ's sacrifice gave me freedom from a life of perpetual sin and the ability to live (with the help of the Holy Spirit) a life without falling into the many snares that Satan sets for me.

   I've been able to see a glimpse of liberty.  I am learning that, in Christ, I do not have to have a fear of man. I can sometimes tend to allow popular opinion shape my beliefs, actions and responses.  This is a sin that I have allowed in my life for as long as I can remember.  I also have the weakness of allowing others to diagnose the state of my soul.  I then try to work hard to overcome (on my own strength) whatever sin was "found" lurking there.  How futile!  It's so much easier and less painful to allow the only One who can really help me, do the doctoring!  Cuz it's kind of hard to be one's own doctor!  

   The last part of the verse is the part that makes my tummy feel all warm and fuzzy because I really like the fact that the Creator of the universe took my place on the cross, because "He delighted in me."  Jesus/God takes pleasure in me!  Did you hear that?  I hardly think that I'm worth it, but He does!  I've also heard a rumor (I'm pretty sure it's true too!) that He would have sacrificed His life for me even if I would have been the only one who needed His cleansing blood!  He loves me!

   I was a bit shocked when I was reading the definitions of the words in that verse and one of them was that, not only does God take pleasure in me, and not only does He desire a relationship with me, but this verse also holds the idea of God bending down.  Now, the picture that I get in my head is of God, the mighty Creator, all powerful Being, bending down to get personally and intimately involved in my life.  Like He's got an ear cocked to hear what I have to say and He not only listens, but reaches down and controls the events of my life.  He's got a smile on His face and I just want to jump onto His lap and snuggle up for a heart to heart talk.  He really cares about what's going on with me!  It's quite an amazing thought really!
   This is also a picture of Jesus (who is also God) lowering Himself to the status of mere man and moving down here on earth to save sinners like me.  What amazing love!

   And last, but not least, the verse also holds the idea that God saved the human race and "was pleased to do (so)."  Let me remind you that this mission was not a fun one.  (Well, it doesn't look fun from my perspective anyway.)  Jesus was probably misunderstood His whole life, He was faced with major opposition wherever He went, He didn't have a home to keep out bad weather, He was betrayed, beaten, and killed.  He knew what earthly life held for Him before He left glory, but He still agreed to come and you know what... "He was pleased to do it!"  Did I mention that He is crazy in love with us!  Seriously, no one would endure so much agony if they didn't love you.
  So, I'm really hoping that a Bible scholar doesn't read this and faint dead away because I'm kind of applying this verse in a different way, but every time I read it, I am just thrilled to the gills that God actually, truly delights in me!  Maybe someone else out there needs to understand that too.  I've done some terrible things in my life; I do not have a golden halo shinning above my head.  So, that's why I'm totally relieved that He accepts me where I am and and then works with me until I am a better picture of what He wants me to be.
   That's what has struck me this Easter.  Jesus took my place and did it willingly because He takes pleasure in you and me!  In short, you make Him smile!

Happy Resurrection Day Everybody!

   

Seeing Potential

   "When you look for the bad in mankind expecting to find it, you surely will."

Eleanor H. Porter

   Do you recognize that quote?  Well, if you've ever read the book, "Pollyanna" or have seen the movie of the same title, you'll be familiar with it.  This was my favorite movie when I was little.  I would watch it whenever I visited my Grandma.  We didn't have a TV in our home (for which I am very grateful to my parents for eliminating that influence).  But my Grandma did.  She kept a few good, "little girl" movies around for my enjoyment.

   The quote above came from that book/movie.  That quote has stuck with me over the years.  It used to shape how I viewed people.  I briefly forgot the lessons that I learned from applying that quote to my outlook, but slowly and surely God is bringing me around again.

  I know of a young lady who saw some little children who were struggling.  They needed someone to believe in them.  Someone to show them the love of Jesus.  Someone to gently come alongside them and teach them how to be useful citizens.  Someone to stick with them when life got ugly.  Someone who wouldn't give up on them. It was hard work.  It wasn't without its discouragements and seeming setbacks.  But she stuck with it.  She cried out to God for strength.  She went above and beyond the call of duty for these children.  She saw their potential and looked for the good in them.  She now has the privilege of watching those same children continue to ask good questions and seek the Lord.  What a reward!  What a blessing!  As I have stood by and watched her sacrificing her comfort and time, I have been challenged.

   In the "Man of La Mancha", (which I am in the process of reading), the slightly mad hero chooses a love interest from a brothel and proceeds to tell her how much he loves and adores her.  That he views her as a lady and not a prostitute.  He gives her a new name.  He treats her kindly and tries to show her that she is not the sum total of her many sins.  He sees her potential  and he looks for the good in her.  At first she rejects and scorns him.  But deep inside her, something sprouts and slowly hope begins to grow.

   I know another young lady who prayed earnestly that God would use her in whatever way He saw fit.  She went to school to become a teacher.  She prayed that God would send her to kids who really need to see the love of Jesus in someone with skin.  She is now a high school teacher to drop outs and delinquents.  Young men and women that everyone has given up on and no one else wants to help.  She sees potential in them and purposely looks for the good in them.  I admire her greatly.  She joyfully gives God the credit for finding her the job she always dreamed about!  Think of it!  She teaches teens who have given up on themselves and consequently act like it.  It's not my idea of a dream job, but obviously she is called.

   As I look around me, I see people who are choosing to see the potential and good in others.  I'm learning.  I'm not a pristine example of how to see past people's hurts and view them as God sees them (I'm really not even a very good example), but God is teaching me.  It's a process.  It's also a choice.  It's hard.  Many times I don't want to think the best about people.  I'd rather label them in my mind according to my hastily formed opinion and walk away.  Or sometimes it's an opinion about someone that I know very well and with whom I disagree.  But God called me and loved me while I was yet a stinky, dirty, mess of a human being.  He saw my potential, He saw something good in me.  I am SO grateful He did.  Where would I be if He hadn't?  Over and over the Bible confirms that I have potential.  Not only me, but you too!  He has created each and every one of us with a unique gift and calling and only you can fulfill it.  

   I guess that I shall endeavor (with a lot of help from God) to use my spyglass to look for the good in others because I firmly believe that I will find it!

"But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8