Delightful!

STORY: Focus On Delight

Every year I like to choose a word or phrase that helps me stay focused on what matters. It colors my view and enriches my everyday living. In big things and small, a little word can season my perspective.

As I sat in church at the end of 2014, a word kept coming to mind. It wasn’t in the music, it wasn’t in the sermon. It was as if a still small voice infused me with this word—whispered directly to my heart.

DELIGHT

What a beautiful, uplifting word. As soon as I heard it, I couldn’t let it go. Delight wrapped her nurturing arms of love around me. Who doesn’t need more of that? DELIGHT.

Because of that word, I determined to add more delight in my life. I wrote out the following intentions as a reminder of my focus for the year.

• Receive God’s delight for me—I won’t shoo it away or shame myself into saying He doesn’t delight in me. I don’t know why He does, but He does. (And in you, too!)
• Delight in the Lord. His presence. His character. His attributes.
• Delight in His Word. The Bible speaks God’s words directly to me.
• Delight in the Gospel. The Good News is a gift to the unbeliever and a daily blessing to the believer. We never get over it.
• Delight in His People. We are designed for community.
• Delight in Life. Every breath. Delighted to hear, to see, that God is good.
• See light in delight. Light creates light bulb moments and guides me. It dispels darkness as it illuminates truth. Also, the word light in delight represents a weightless sensation. I am blessed when burdens are lightened and lifted. It reminds me of Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT). Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
• Delight in my mate…and he in me. Take joy in each other.

Julia Margaret Cameron said, “The capacity for delight is the gift of paying attention.” I’m determined to pay attention to the God winks all around me—to delight in the middle of the journey and not wait for the destination.

Will you allow delight to wrap her nurturing arms around you?

“When we take delight, we gain the very thing that was our goal all along.” –Stephanie Bryant

STUDY: Title

Jethro was delighted when he heard about all the good things the Lord had done for Israel as he rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians. (Exodus 18:9 NLT)

• When was the last time you were delighted hearing about the good things the Lord has done?
• If you want more delight in your life, try listing some of the good things the Lord has done. How does that help spark the Pilot Light of your heart?

O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.” In those days I was the king’s cup-bearer. (Nehemiah 1:11 NLT)

• Nehemiah felt comfortable saying his prayer group delighted in honoring God. What does it look like to honor God?
• Do you take delight in honoring God?
• Do you think living a life that pleases God puts you in better standing when you pray to Him?

The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. (Psalm 27:4 NLT)

• David longed to live in the house of the Lord. What did he want to do there?
• Have you spent time delighting in the Lord’s perfections? List some.
• What is biblical meditation?
• David could have prayed anywhere, delighted in the Lord anywhere, and meditated anywhere. Why do you think he wanted to do it in the house of the Lord? What priority do we need to place in our own houses of worship?

How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. (Psalm 111:2 NLT)

• List some amazing deeds of the Lord.
• Do you delight in them?
• What does it mean to ponder them? The word ponder also means meditate. It’s when we think, consider, reflect, or ruminate on a biblical concept or scripture. 

STEPS: Your Focus Statement

1. Look over my focus intentions for delight in STORY. What resonates with you?
2. Create your own focus statement on the word delight. How will you add more delight into your life?
3. Determine to add more delight in the lives of others. Who will benefit from your delightfulness?
4. Meditate on the character and action of God.

Copyright © 2017 Kathy Carlton Willis. Used by permission.