Delighting in Grace*

Delighting in grace ...what does this mean? I can't say I fully know, mainly because I do not fully understand God's incredible grace; it is undoubtedly greater and has influenced my life more than I even realize. What I do know, though, is that by His grace, He has shown me my desperate need for His salvation; He has enabled me to repent of my sins and follow Him, and as a result, He has transformed (and is continuing to transform) my life. "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works." (Titus 2:11-14) I obviously have a ways to go as far as living a self-controlled, upright, and godly life, but by His grace, I'm making slow but sure progress.

So where does "delighting" come in? I found this prayer by a Puritan author that, I think, captures this idea very well: "May the living God...make these our carnal minds so spiritual and heavenly, that loving Him, and delighting in Him, may be the work of our lives." Basically, as God graciously teaches me His ways and enables me to grow in godliness, I begin to focus more and more on “loving Him, and delighting in Him”; these things do become the “work of [my life]” and, essentially, my reason for being. What’s incredible is that this love and delight allows me to better recognize the presence and effects of God’s grace in my life, which only increases my love for and delight in Him all the more. Even an ever-increasing awareness of my sinfulness serves to deepen my gratitude for His mercy in forgiving me and His grace in working in and through me.

As I typed this last sentence, a song I remember hearing when I was younger popped into my mind:

Were it not for grace
I can tell you where I’d be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me
I know how that would go
The battles I would face
Forever running but losing this race
Were it not for grace (Larnelle Harris, “Were It Not for Grace”)

How incredibly true, and so, I am delighting in grace.

* "Grace is God's unmerited favor by which He saves us and makes us righteous. It is based solely on His sovereign love, which is manifested in the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ for our sin. It is not the result of any worthiness on our part. Once we are saved we stand in grace." John MacArthur