I was walking through the mall one Saturday, and then my feet (without any knowledge of my brain) walked me right into a candle store. And soon, my shopping trip was hijacked by smells — dusky ones, flowery ones, delicious ones, crisp ones. All I could do was smell one candle after another until I had sniffed them all, rating how much I liked them with my level of nose wrinkle-age and the expression on my face. I found in the store my favorite vanilla scented candles. On sale. They were coming home with me immediately.
Oh, how I adore the scent of vanilla. So warm. So inviting. So sweet. Every time I smell my candles, they take me over. I feel like I am walking into my childhood home with a vanilla cake baking in the oven. Smelling these things just makes me happy.
The fragrance of my little candles wafts through the air at the most random of times, and one day when the sweet smell came to me, the loveliest thought came to me too — that maybe this is how God feels about me. Maybe this smile-raising happiness, this enveloping joy I feel when I smell my sweet vanilla is how God feels when He looks upon my face, when the fragrant offering of my love for Him and for others lifts up to His heavenly throne.
Oh, but my dear sisters in Christ, this is not just a lovely thought — this is the loveliest of realities!
“And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. {Ephesians 5:2, NKJV}
“For the LORD takes delight in His people; He crowns the humble with victory. {Psalm 149:4, NIV}
God delights in you with the kind of delight that would make Him smile just because you woke up this morning; the kind of delight that makes His mighty voice burst joyfully into song over you; the kind of delight in you that captivates Him even more than a sweeping night sky strewn with endless stars, more than a brilliant sunset over glistening waves, more than anything this universe has to offer; the kind of delight that the offering of your heart to Him is His favorite fragrance that fills the air of heaven, and it just makes Him abundantly and eternally happy.
Oh, you, yes, you dear ones are God’s truest joy, His dearest love, His greatest delight.
Oh, how my life might be different if I believed this. I mean really believed this — believed this on those days when I wish I could make everybody happy, but I can’t; believed this when I feel so unlovable, so unworthy; believed this when it feels like God’s heart is eons away.
So come believe this with me. Come believe not only in God’s great love for us, but also in His great delight over us. Let us believe so that we might find joy and rest in this great delight of the greatest One. Let us believe so that we could feel we can always gratefully and humbly approach the Lord’s throne of grace with confidence. Let us believe so that we might feel the captivated heart of God forever knit together with our own through His Spirit. Let us believe so that our every day and our every thought would be colored by the radiant hues of God’s delight over us. Let us believe so that His delight over us would stir us to all the more delight in Him and His ways. And let us believe so that we could wake up every morning and smile.
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Emily,
For me, it’s hard to fathom that when I see me at my worst, God sees me at my best. He does because His view of me is continually through the lens of the blood of His precious son. He sees me as He knit me together to be…perfect, whole, worthy, loved. Though this world leaves stains on us, God sees us as He intentionally planned us and His workmanship is good. Thank you for this much needed reminder that not only does He love us, but He downright DELIGHTS in us. Oh, how differently we would live our lives if we truly saw ourselves how God sees us.
Blessings,
Bev
Amen Bev..oh how I would love to talk with our almighty Father!!! I pray to hear Him and His message. I love that He delights in is no matter what..
I, too, look forward one day to seeing him face to face!! It’s hard to imagine someone who loves so unconditionally and delights in us no matter what 🙂
Bev, your reply and this gracious post speaks to so much of what the Lord is working to teach me. Each of us matter to Him for He chose each of us before we were born, He knew us. As I try to wrap my heart and head around that, your comment that He sees us at our best when we are at our worst leads me to a place that He knew all of the days of our lives, all the good and bad that we would do, and loves and delights in us anyway. Thank you, sweet sister and to you, Emily, for helping me to connect a few things. How different we would live with these truths sunk deep into the ground of our souls. May the Lord bless you with His grace and love to you and all of us today 🙂
An,
I am 55 years old and it has taken a LONG time for some of these truths to sink in (I think I’m a remedial learner???). I still get tripped up sometimes thinking that God is disappointed in me when the truth is that “disappointed” isn’t in His vocabulary. God is not fickle and moody like I am. He doesn’t get disappointed like I do. So thankful, that because of Christ, He has strewn my sins as far as the east is from the west and He just sees me as the wonderful creation that He made. This IS hard truth to wrap our tiny minds around. Praying that His Truth would sink in and abide in you today and every day going forward!!
((Hugs)) sweet sister!
B
Amen, Bev! My heart forever sings praise that our sins can be covered by the blood of Jesus and God can see us through the eyes of perfect grace as ones perfected. I cling to our Father who loves and delights in His children no matter what!
Blessings, Emily Bowen
Emily, this is just beautiful. It brought a smile to my face this morning as it did many others. God delights in us! May we all let that sink in.
Thank you, Crystal! I am so blessed to know that! Blessings to you!
What a great reminder, pick a fragrance to remind us how our prayers go up continually before God, like opening a potpourri of knee mail. And we can talk to the Holy Spirit, He’s with us and talks directly to God. People are always talking on bluetooth and look as if they are talking to themselves, we don’t have to worry about looking crazy, but seriously, He’s there always but especially in the secret place or prayer closet.
Yes, so thankful for the Holy Spirit bringing our every need and prayer to the ear of God!
Thank you for these God Breathed words today! I am thankful that you have chosen to offer your ministry of the written word so that it may build us up in the Body. In the last few weeks God has revealed ever so lovingly some truths about myself that needed change. It was hard and painful and necessary. But, never did I feel alone and as I started praising Him for this “gift” He unleashed a wave of tender and loving caring. In His words, His people and His world – He made Himself known. To read today how He delights in me! That is a God Nod that I am grateful for!
I have prayed that God would speak through my words to encourage others. I am so blessed to hear that God has used these words to encourage you! I praise God for the tender love He shows us as He is molding us to be more and more like Jesus.
Love this! Thank you for the encouraging words that God delights over us. Next time I light a candle, I will be reminded of this truth. Thank you!
I’m so glad this was an encouragement to you!
“Oh my life might be different if I believed this…God loves me.” So true Emily. Even if my life were no different, I know the perception of my life would be. Living in a time of tallying “likes” for selfies, pics of family outings, or our own personal words of wisdom, it’s easy to measure our value. Twitter followers, snap chat…blah blah blah. God does more than “like” us, He “LOVES” us unfailingly because of who He is. We call ourselves “believers,” but help our unbelief.
So true, LaToya! Yes, Lord help our eyes seek Him and dwell in His love!
Emily,
This brings to mind Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love. He will rejoice over you with singing. Wow! Such a vivid thoughts! Can’t fathom a God who rejoices over me with singing–especially on my worst days! I must remember that He loved me so much to die a horrible death. If I could live like I really know this in my heart and head.
Blessings 🙂
Yes, that is such a powerful verse! I give praise to our Lord who loved us so much that He sent His Son to die that we might truly live! Blessings to you, Beth!