“He rescued me from my powerful enemies, from those who hated me and were too strong for me. They attacked me at a moment when I was in distress, but the Lord supported me. He led me to a place of safety; he rescued me because he delights in me.”
Psalm 18:17-19 NLT
David considered his circumstances and marvelled at the way God had rescued him from the attacks of his “powerful enemies”. Not only did the Lord support him , but He led him to “a place of safety” and all because “He delights in [him]”. The Amplified version interprets Psalm 18:19 as, “He brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me”. What an amazing accolade, to say that God is pleased with someone. But how would we know? We might have a personal impression that God “delights in” us but the thing about divine accolades is surely that the Heavenly beneficence is public. But the only way that people will know that God delights in us is in the way we behave. There will be no neon lights in the sky proclaiming God’s pleasure with Joe Bloggs or anyone else. A Heavenly light display such as that was retained for God’s own Son at His birth – “Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, … Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,” (Luke 2:9, 13). But there was another time when a voice from Heaven proclaimed how pleased God was with His Son, as we read in Luke 3:22 at the occasion of Jesus’ baptism, “and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.””
But today God’s pleasure with someone can be seen publicly in the way they behave. A contentious thought perhaps, but one that many people overlook. For example, if a Christian looks miserable, are they demonstrating God’s pleasure with them? If a believer makes comments that are negative how does that fit in with God’s favour? We pilgrims are God’s testimony of grace and His love to a wayward and evil generation, and our demeanours must reflect that. I was once walking through a pedestrian tunnel under the River Thames in London with many people coming towards me, hurrying to work, and I was struck by the staring, fixed and sad looks on most of the faces I could see. Faces displaying a lack of God’s blessing and favour. Faces trapped in a world of sin and without hope for the future. I was reminded once again that God wants us pilgrims to reach out with messages of Good News, which start with first impressions. Are we smiling or does our facial expressions mirror those of the people around us?
In Psalm 5:12 we read, “Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favour as with a shield”. I suppose it goes without saying, that God has no incentive or need to bless an unrighteous person, although such people are included in His blessings, as we read in Matthew 4:45b, “ … He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”. That is God’s grace in operation. But to fully appreciate God’s beneficence, we need to acknowledge Him and believe in Him, something that the worldly people around us fail to do.
For a believer, the reality is that God will delight in us as we follow His ways. He is with us every step we take, cheering us on when the going gets tough, encouraging us when adversity strikes, blessing us with provision for our needs. But if we feel that God’s favour has left us, then we return to the Cross where we touch base once again with our Saviour, Jesus. Only He has the words of eternal life. Only He can bring hope to the hopeless and favour to the lost.
Dear Father God. With grateful hearts we praise and worship You today for all Your Heavenly favours. It’s all about You and Your glory, and we humbly bow before You today, conscious of all that You have done for us. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 