“He delivered me from my strong enemy, from those who hated me, For they were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.” Psalms 18:17-19
This staggering thought hit me when I was reading this passage in Psalms: God’s children have the opportunity to captivate His heart. Wow! That I could ever captivate the Almighty God of Heaven and earth—for any reason—has never even registered on the radar of my small human brain.
If you’ve heard my story, you know that I spent a great portion of my life as a born again believer running from God. I was suspicious of His motives for my life. I created my own false image of God based upon my experiences with deeply flawed human love. But God’s love is supernatural, and He never fails.
And then there is this Psalm. The Bible often describes God’s tenderness toward His children. God is not indifferent, distant, or emotionally detached from His people as I long thought. If He chose to DIE for me when I was His enemy—why should I not also believe that He would delight, rejoice, and take pleasure in my LIFE?
If I delight in my children, it makes sense that God would delight in me to an ever greater extent—because He is God, the Author of all delight!
God’s Word doesn’t hide the ball about God’s delight in His people.
“For the Lord takes pleasure in His people; He will beautify the humble with salvation.” Psalm 149:4
“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy.” Psalm 147:11
These scriptures reveal the affectionate posture of God toward those who walk before Him in humility and trust. God’s pleasure is not earned by rigid performance, self-attributed brilliance, or self-invented physical or mental strength. It is drawn toward the heart that worships and obeys Him for who He says He is. Zephaniah offers one of my favorite pictures of God’s disposition toward His redeemed:
“The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17
This is GOD—rejoicing over His people; quieting us in the storms by His steadfast love, and actually singing over us with gladness! Can you imagine God singing over you?
So what is it about us that invites such delight from God?
Well, besides the not-so-small facts that we are made in His image and He sacrificed His own life to reconcile us to a relationship with Himself—the Bible consistently points to humility, trust, and gratitude within us as believers as qualities that attract God’s good favor. When we live in loving obedience, we are following what the Bible calls a “good man.” It’s simply amazing to think that God would delight in us!
“The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.” Psalms 37:23
But…this should not surprise us! Don’t we delight in our children when they live in loving obedience to the ways we have taught them? When they are loving and wise?
Notice that intimacy with God is a result of living in loving obedience. The omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God is attentive to direct each of our steps. Wow! He delights in the walk of those yielded to Him.
Yet Romans 1 reveals the opposite trajectory; that is, the not-so-subtle fracture that distances us from God’s presence:
“Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Romans 1:21
The descent into misery and foolish darkness begins with something deceptively small: ingratitude. Unthankfulness is not simply a mood; it is a posture of independence that leads us to destruction. It’s the first biopsy that reveals the cancer of unthankfulness within. It is subtly crediting self rather than God. It is forgetting God’s mercy and grace. This heart that ceases to give thanks gradually loses clarity about God Himself and about reality. In fact, we forget our own identity. (We see this happen in the remainder of Romans chapter 1.)
Thankfulness, by contrast, is an act of humility. It acknowledges our utter dependence upon God. We have His mind and His attitudes. James states plainly:
“God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
Thankfulness and pride cannot coexist. Gratitude necessarily displaces self-exaltation. It turns the heart outward toward God’s goodness rather than inward toward self-sufficiency. Thanksgiving is repeatedly tied to God’s presence:
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.” Psalm 100:4
Thankfulness is not merely saying a prayer; it is relational alignment. It positions our heart to perceive and enjoy God’s presence. And what fuels our gratitude more than anything else? His priceless gift of redemption!
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8
Gratitude flows most deeply from us when we remember the horrors of hell from which we have been rescued. A thankful heart transforms us because it eventually shifts from being event-driven to being identity-driven. The believer learns to thank God not only for visible blessings but for unseen protections, sustaining grace, and the simple gift of belonging to Him.
Even ordinary moments become invitations for thankfulness: breath in our lungs; health for the day; and dangers we never had to experience. Over time, thankfulness reshapes our perception, and we begin to have more of God’s perspective. Our awareness of God’s activity all around us sharpens. Our fellowship with Him deepens. We begin to understand why and how “We love Him because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:19
Thankfulness is ultimately a response to the immeasurable love we’ve already been given.
Thankfulness is not a strategy to manipulate God, but a recognition of the reality of who He is as taught in His Word. Every good thing traces back to Him. God delights in bringing us His goodness:
“He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.” Psalm 18:19
My friend, thankfulness is the key to experiencing just how much God delights in us!
Prayer:
Heavenly Father, guard my heart from the subtle drift of ingratitude. Teach me to recognize Your hand not only in extraordinary moments but in the quiet mercies that sustain my life. Strip away pride that blinds me to Your goodness. Deepen within me a spirit of gratitude that reflects trust, humility, and reverence. Let thankfulness anchor my thoughts, shape my attitudes, and draw my awareness toward Your constant presence. Remind me that every breath, every provision, and every hope is a gift of Your mercy. May my life bring You pleasure and great delight as I walk before You with a grateful heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
