Isaiah 62:4
“You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,” and your land will no longer be called “Desolate.” Indeed, you will be called, “My delight is in her,” and your land “married.” For the Lord will take delight in you, and your land will be married to him. 12 They will be called, “The Holy People, the Ones Protected by the LORD.” You will be called, “Sought After, City Not Abandoned.”
A little girl dancing in a ballerina outfit with her Daddy’s praise spurring her on . . . a young woman glowing as her father’s eyes beam with pride at her dressed in a wedding gown . . . a wife blushing at her husband’s praise . . . all moments that evoke the feeling of being delighted in.
When is the last time you have felt delighted in? Oftentimes we take one another for granted and forget what gifts each one of us are to one another and to God. The word, “Hepzibah” which God is calling Israel, literally means my delight is in her. Unconditional acceptance, cherished, favored. I believe we often feel the opposite – unaccepted, not good enough or rejected. But that is not what God’s Word says.
Difficult times can make you feel insignificant and forgotten, like you will never see the goodness of God in the land of the living. But God desires to lift us up out of that place, for His glory, and redeem what was lost. Today He proclaims His favor and chooses to lavish His love on you – if You have accepted His free gift of salvation. We love one another imperfectly, but God’s love is perfect and eternal. I am in awe of God, Who would choose a people and then graft in others who were not a part of the original promise and delight in them. What a wonderful heritage and blessing that is.
You, my friend, are delighted in! Bask in that truth and choose not to stray from it. He’s not through with you yet. Amen.
Thank You, God, that you never give up on us – You will complete the work you have begun in us. You do not delight in our stagnation or destruction, but in restoring us. You are good – all the time! Love you, Lord!