GOD DELIGHTS IN YOU!

The Holy Spirit gave David a revelation that is the key to all deliverance. David could say, “The reason God delivered me from all my enemies—from all my sorrows and the powers of hell—is because I am precious to him. My God delights in me!” “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19). Do you need deliverance? From lust, temptation or trial? From a problem that’s mental, spiritual, emotional or physical? The key to your victory is in this verse. God delights in you. You are precious to him!

In Song of Solomon, the Lord says of his bride, “How fair and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! (Song of Solomon 7:6). Three of the Hebrew words in this verse are synonymous: fair, meaning “precious”; pleasant, indicating “pleasure”; and delights. These words describe Jesus’ thoughts toward his bride as he beholds her. He looks at her and says, “How beautiful, sweet and delightful you are. You are precious to me, O love.” In turn, the bride boasts, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me” (7:10). The meaning here is, “He runs after me with delight. He chases me because I am so precious to him.” These same thoughts are found throughout the Psalms: “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:11). “The Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation” (149:4).

I can try to convince you of God’s delight in you by telling you, “You are precious to the Lord.” Yet you may think, “That’s sweet. But it’s only a lovely thought.” No, this truth is much more than a lovely thought. It is the very key to your deliverance from every battle that rages in your soul. It is the secret to entering into the rest God has promised you. Until you lay hold of it—until it becomes a foundation of truth in your heart—you won’t be able to withstand the trials of life.

Isaiah had a revelation of God’s great delight in us. He prophesied, “O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:1-2).

Isaiah wasn’t talking about a literal flood or fire. He was talking about what people go through spiritually and mentally. Israel was in captivity at the time; their floods were trials, their fires were temptations, their rivers were testings. These were all Satan’s attempts to destroy and overwhelm God’s people. Isaiah’s words were a message of pure mercy to Israel. The people were in captivity because of their own stupidity and foolishness. But God sent them a brokenhearted prophet who said, “God wants me to tell you that you belong to him.”

Right now, you may be in the midst of your own swirling waters. You may feel overwhelmed by a trial or temptation that threatens to consume you. You’ve got to understand from these biblical examples that the Lord does not always calm the waters. He doesn’t always keep the floods from coming or put out the fires. Yet he does promise this: “I will walk with you through it all. This trial or circumstance will not destroy you. It won’t consume you. So, walk on. You’ll come out on the other side with me beside you!”