The God Who Delights in You
Introduction
When Love Is More Than Duty
We’ve been taught that God loves us. But many of us quietly wonder… does He like us?
It’s easy to believe that He delights in others the spiritually strong, the consistent ones, the women who always seem to have it together. But us? The ones who are tired, still struggling, still healing. We often assume we’re just tolerated. Loved, yes but not enjoyed.
But what if that’s not true?
What if the very places you feel the most unworthy are the places where His delight runs deepest?
What if God doesn’t just love you.
What if He actually enjoys you?
“You’re not merely tolerated by God. You are treasured, enjoyed, and delighted in right now.”
The Striving Years
It starts so young, doesn’t it?
We learn to achieve, to perform, to please first in school, then in relationships, careers, even church. We begin to believe that love is something we must earn. That being acceptable means being agreeable. That being delightful means being less of ourselves.
And for many women, that striving doesn’t stop when we come to faith.
We carry it right into our relationship with God.
We try to please Him with our clean eating, our devotional habits, our emotional control. We think if we could just do better, we’d finally feel better.
But underneath it all, there’s still a question we’re afraid to ask:
“Is He disappointed in me?”
Maybe you’ve asked that too.
When you didn’t pray enough,
When you lost your temper,
When you felt distant or broken or inconsistent.
But here’s the truth I want you to hear today:
You were never meant to earn His delight.
You were born from it.
Delight Is Not Earned It’s Inherited
There’s a verse tucked into Zephaniah that changed everything for me:
“The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.
He will take great delight in you;
in His love He will no longer rebuke you,
but will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephaniah 3:17 (NIV)
Take delight in you.
Rejoice over you.
Sing over you.
That’s not the language of tolerating someone.
That’s the language of a Father who’s absolutely captivated.
And here’s the wildest part:
God doesn’t delight in you because you’ve done everything right.
He delights in you because you’re His.
Delight isn’t something you earn.
It’s something you inherit.
Just like a newborn doesn’t need to do anything to be adored by her parents, you don’t have to perform to make God smile.
His joy over you isn’t based on your behavior it’s rooted in your identity.
You are His daughter.
And daughters are delighted in.
Living Like You’re Loved
When you begin to believe deep in your bones that God delights in you, something shifts.
You stop striving to be worthy and start living as though you already are.
Because you are.
You stop trying to impress Him with your effort and start enjoying Him in your everyday.
You rest more. You breathe deeper. You begin to glow not from perfection, but from peace.
Delight changes everything.
It changes how you pray,
not as a performer, but as a daughter.
It changes how you show up,
not to prove your value, but to walk in it.
It changes how you view your body,
not as a project to fix, but as a vessel He already loves.
You’re not behind. You’re not failing.
You’re not too messy to be enjoyed.
You are already loved.
Already chosen.
Already delighted in.
“You don’t have to prove you’re lovable God already delights in the woman you are right now.”
My Story: The Moment I Found His Heart
I remember the moment everything changed.
It was 31 years ago.
I wasn’t even a Christian yet just a curious seeker with no real understanding of Scripture. Somehow, I had landed in a Bible study on the book of Hebrews… which, as you may know, is not exactly beginner friendly.
I didn’t understand much.
But I kept reading.
Then I came across Hebrews 4:12–13:
“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword… it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”
It should have made me feel exposed. Judged. Afraid.
But instead, I felt… known.
Utterly seen and still wanted.
In that moment, I realized:
God saw every broken part of me.
All the striving. All the shame. All the places I tried to hide.
And He came close anyway.
He didn’t flinch.
He didn’t turn away.
He delighted in me anyway.
That was the day I found a heart like no other.
And since then, growing to know Him more especially understanding what it means to be in covenant with Him has been the most healing, joy-filled journey of my life.
(Yes, we’ll do a blog on covenant soon. Because that part deserves its own spotlight.)
Closing: A Love That Claims You Completely
Daughter, you were never meant to earn your place.
You were born to belong.
You don’t have to perform for affection.
You don’t have to clean yourself up to be worthy.
God’s delight in you is not hesitant it’s wholehearted.
And it’s not just emotional it’s covenantal.
“I gave you My solemn oath and entered into a covenant with you,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “and you became Mine.”
Ezekiel 16:8
"You became Mine."
Hear that again.
If you are in Him, you became His.
You are not just forgiven.
You are wanted. Chosen. Kept.
He doesn’t delight in you because you’ve arrived.
He delights in you simply because you’re His.
Drink that in.
Let it absorb into your whole being.
“You don’t have to earn your place. You were born to belong. God’s delight in you is not hesitant it’s covenantal.”
Reflection Invitation:
Take a quiet moment today just you and Him.
No performance. No pressure. Just presence.
Ask Him this:
“Lord… do You really delight in me?”
Then sit in the silence and listen.
Don’t rush to journal. Don’t try to feel something emotional.
Just let His answer come.
Maybe it’s a word, a picture, a whisper or just a holy stillness.
Then, when you’re ready, ask:
“What do You love about me?”
Let Him show you.
Not who you’re trying to be,
but who He already sees.
Write it down. Speak it out.
Let it sink in.
You are not barely accepted.
You are not spiritually average.
You are delighted in.
Deeply. Joyfully. Unapologetically.
