Delight and Anticipation

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

I’ve heard and read that verse many times in the course of my life. It was a favorite of our former worship leader at my church, and when she would read it, something in my heart leapt for joy and felt warm and comforted. I have to confess, though, that I don’t think I ever really understood what it meant to delight in someone. I knew it had to be a good thing, but in all seriousness, I don’t know that I had ever truly delighted in anyone…until this little girl came into our world.

And now, I delight. I delight in her when she is playing, I delight in her when she is sleeping. I delight in her joy and in her frustration. I delight in her when she is obedient and when she is testing her limits. I delight in every stage of her development, from helpless newborn to trying toddler. I delight in her just as she is, whether easy or challenging or exhausting. I delight in her because of who she is and because I love her. For those reasons and no other, I delight in her.

It’s a pretty powerful thing to realize that God delights in me that way. He loves me as I am, whether I’m clinging to Him or trying to chart my own way through life. He delights in me because of who I am and because He loves me. Period.

“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you.” (Zephaniah 3:17)

As much as He does delight in me today, as I am right now, though, He anticipates, too. He anticipates what I might become, and what I might do. He anticipates stages in my own development that are still to come. He anticipates who I will be once His changes take effect in my character and my spirit. He anticipates a time when I will be more like Jesus than I am today.

And with Leah, I’m the same way. I love – delight in – who she is right now, but I anticipate a time when she has changed. I anticipate a time when she will be more of who she was meant to be and I can relate to her woman to woman. I anticipate those things because I know they are coming, and because there is hope and promise in them. Today is good, for sure, but I am eager for the joys of tomorrow.

I delight in her, but I anticipate. And God…..He delights in me, but He anticipates. I anticipate what He does, too. It’s one of the delicate balances of this life. Delight and anticipation. Anticipation and delight. Relishing today while recognizing the joys to come tomorrow.