God Delights in Me!!

(devotion by David Wilkerson)

The Holy Spirit gave David a revelation that is the key to all deliverance.
David could say, “The reason God delivered me from all my enemies—from all
my sorrows and the powers of hell—is because I am precious to him. My God
delights in me!” “He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered
me, because he delighted in me” (Psalm 18:19). Do you need deliverance? From
lust, temptation or trial? From a problem that’s mental, spiritual, emotional
or physical? The key to your victory is in this verse. God delights in you. You
are precious to him!

In Song of Solomon, the Lord says of his bride, “How fair and how pleasant
art thou, O love, for delights! (Song of Solomon 7:6). Three of the Hebrew
words in this verse are synonymous: fair, meaning “precious”; pleasant,
indicating “pleasure”; and delights. These words describe Jesus’ thoughts
toward his bride as he beholds her. He looks at her and says, “How beautiful,
sweet and delightful you are. You are precious to me, O love.” In turn, the
bride boasts, “I am my beloved’s, and his desire is toward me” (7:10).
The meaning here is, “He runs after me with delight. He chases me because I
am so precious to him.” These same thoughts are found throughout the Psalms:
“The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his
mercy” (Psalm 147:11). “The Lord taketh pleasure in his people: he will
beautify the meek with salvation” (149:4).

I can try to convince you of God’s delight in you by telling you, “You are
precious to the Lord.” Yet you may think, “That’s sweet. But it’s only
a lovely thought.” No, this truth is much more than a lovely thought. It is
the very key to your deliverance from every battle that rages in your soul. It
is the secret to entering into the rest God has promised you. Until you lay
hold of it—until it becomes a foundation of truth in your heart—you won’t
be able to withstand the trials of life.

Isaiah had a revelation of God’s great delight in us. He prophesied, “O
Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name;
thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee: and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the
fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (Isaiah
43:1-2).

Isaiah wasn’t talking about a literal flood or fire. He was talking about
what people go through spiritually and mentally. Israel was in captivity at the
time; their floods were trials, their fires were temptations, their rivers were
testings. These were all Satan’s attempts to destroy and overwhelm God’s
people. Isaiah’s words were a message of pure mercy to Israel. The people
were in captivity because of their own stupidity and foolishness. But God sent
them a brokenhearted prophet who said, “God wants me to tell you that you
belong to him.”

Right now, you may be in the midst of your own swirling waters. You may feel
overwhelmed by a trial or temptation that threatens to consume you. You’ve
got to understand from these biblical examples that the Lord does not always
calm the waters. He doesn’t always keep the floods from coming or put out the
fires. Yet he does promise this: “I will walk with you through it all. This
trial or circumstance will not destroy you. It won’t consume you. So, walk
on. You’ll come out on the other side with me beside you!”