The Lord’s Delight – Fear Him and Trust Him

Have you ever been on a walk and looked at nature? Flowers growing wildly along the dirt road, birds singing carefree in the trees and the sounds of insects around. A cool breeze blows across your face, refreshing it. Have you ever taken a hike up a mountain and looked breathlessly at the horizon from the mountaintop? 

Have you marvelled at animals in their majestic strength and wondered at the grandeur of their stature? Have you been impressed by feats of men and incredible inventions, or magnificent displays of megastructures? As impressive as all this is, the only thing that God is impressed by is a man who fears and trusts Him.

“He takes no pleasure in the strength of a horse or in human might. No, the Lord’s delight is in those who fear Him, those who put their hope in His unfailing love.” Psalm 147:10–11

You want to see God smile? You want to get your heavenly Father excited—then fear and trust Him. The Bible teaches us that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that those who come to Him must believe that He is and that He rewards those who seek Him. Consider what it takes to please humans—words of praise, gifts, beauty, wealth, stature—and the list goes on. Many times, we can’t please people even after we have met all their demands because they move the goalposts. Typical human nature.

Instead, turn your energy to the One whose yardstick remains the same year after year. Focusing your energy on pleasing God is so much easier and attainable. And guess what? When we realign our lives to be God-pleasers, He says, “When the way of a man pleases the Lord, He makes even his enemies be at peace with him.” There you go—you’ve solved one through the other.

So how can we do this? How can we become God-pleasers? Let’s go back to our text for today:

•  Fear God
•  Put your hope in Him

The fear of God brings wisdom; it means making God the constant yardstick for your life’s decisions. If you consider what pleases God in all you do, you’ll stay away from what grieves Him. To fear God means to love rather than retaliate because God says so. To share when you don’t have much because it pleases Him. To live an honest life, even when cutting corners seems easiest, because His principles demand it. To fear God means to put Him at the center of our lives and guide all our decisions by His principles.

Putting your hope in God is the second part of this equation, which means relying on His promises and not just on human strength—even if God chooses to use a human. It means looking to God for strength, wisdom, support, and blessing. Hoping in His goodness to see us through situations, and His power to deliver us from all evil.

When you fear God by living according to His principles, and you put your trust in Him—not relying on human wisdom or strength—you please God, and He delights in you.

And what happens when we please God? What happens when He delights in us? He orders our steps; His eyes are always on us; His presence surrounds us day and night; and He hears when we call on Him. In a world that constantly changes and challenges us, what a joy, what a comfort to know you have a Father who delights in you and who will always be with you every step of the way.

You can’t go wrong with this. Let’s commit to a life built on God’s principles and put our trust in Him, always.