“He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19, ESV).
Alice grew up in strict churches. She had a mental image of God as a mob boss, demanding and cold. Strict and unrelenting.
So, Alice spent all her time trying to be the good girl. She got the best grades, went to a college her church approved of, and married a man her parents adored.
Although her life looked good on the outside, Alice felt like she was falling apart on the inside. She was always worried she was disappointing God, and she lived in constant fear.
It wasn’t until her baby boy became sick that Alice finally approached God. “I fell apart, right there in the hospital room where my four-month-old baby was sleeping. For the first time, I admitted I couldn’t do it all. It was the first time I’d ever asked God for help.”
She spent the next few days reading Psalms to her son. “One of them—in Psalm 18, I think—talked about how God rescued David because He delighted in him.”
That was the day Alice realized God loved her and truly delighted in her. “Not because I follow the rules or do all the right things but because He loves me, as His child, no doing required.”
God, sometimes, it’s easy to believe that it all rests on my shoulders. On those days, help me remember You delight in me. That You love me and You’re holding everything together. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
