Delight in Yourself as God Does

"But you shall be called My Delight; for the LORD delights in you... and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you."
Isaiah 62:1-5

“I am God’s daily delight and God is my daily delight!” What could be better? Scream it from the rooftops! We can’t remain silent when our vindication shines forth as brightness before all the earth!

And we are vindicated by God’s great love. Thus, we are victorious over the bad behavior of parents, teachers and siblings; over all of the hurtful words and actions we experienced as children, young adults and even as adults. We are also vindicated from all those to whom we have given power over us in the past; all of those that we laid down before like doormats. We are vindicated from the Lie that we are not good enough, and we are vindicated by God’s forgiveness of our own self-demeaning behavior.

Our new-found self-love is a saving grace from God, and it is like a burning torch; a flame that spreads it’s light before us as we walk the path that God has always intended for us. Self-love is an acceptance of God’s gift of life. It is accepting ourselves just the way God created us. No longer do we need to recreate ourselves in the image and likeness of another person: a false higher power. We need only to fully discover, be and love who we are. It’s as simple and as difficult as that!

Practicing self-love means learning to be kind to ourselves: We are good enough! So let’s replace self-critical words and thoughts with self-affirming words and thoughts. Let’s look in the mirror every morning and take delight in ourselves by comforting ourselves with positive words, like handsome, beautiful, caring, witty, smart, sexy, sophisticated, compassionate, inspiring, delightful! We can choose a different word every day and practice applying it to ourselves throughout our day.

Eventually, we will see ourselves as a crown of beauty in the Lord’s hand. No longer will we abandon ourselves and no longer will we feel desolate. We will feel like a flame ready to burn up the world with passion for life. No longer will we be like the moth that we once were; always clinging to a wall, or another person, for support. No longer will we flit about without purpose. We will spring forth like a stallion, content in ourselves and delighted in the life God has blessed us with.

Each day offers a new beginning, a fresh start filled with the radiance of God’s love all about us. Let’s leap out of bed each morning and rejoice. Shout aloud “I am God’s daily delight and God is my daily delight!” And all will be well.

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