Delighted

We cared so much for you that we were pleased (delighted) to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 (CSB)

What was the last thing you did that brought you delight? To delight in something means to take great pleasure or joy in it. It is an emotional response to something that brings happiness, satisfaction, or enjoyment. When someone delights in something, they sincerely appreciate and admire it.

Delight can be experienced in various forms, such as delighting in a person, a place, an experience, a hobby, a skill, or a spiritual practice. It is often associated with positive feelings like happiness, contentment, and gratitude. When someone delights in something, they are fully engaged and present at the moment, savoring every aspect of it.

In a religious context, delight can also refer to finding joy and satisfaction in God and His ways. This is expressed in various verses in the Bible, such as Psalm 37:4, which says, "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." One of the most precious promises in Psalm 37 comes in response to a command: "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires." The way to "take delight in the Lord" is to make Jesus our greatest delight. It is a call to stop looking at everyone else around us and look to Jesus—to make him our greatest treasure and greatest pursuit. As John Piper says, this is a "radical call to pursue your fullest satisfaction in all that God promised to be for you in Jesus" (Future Grace, 399). When we make Jesus our greatest delight, we will find no joy more incredible than the joy He gives. We will find that all the worldly things we once envied no longer appeal to us. As we pursue happiness in Jesus, he will increasingly become our greatest longing.

In many translations, Paul's words to the Thessalonians in his first letter shares this very delight. In this verse (1 Thessalonians 2:8), Paul expresses his deep affection for the believers in Thessalonica and his commitment to them in sharing the gospel's message and his personal relationship with them. Paul's words suggest that the gospel message is not just a set of ideas to be taught but a way of life to be shared with others. Paul took delight in the church of Thessalonica because of their faith and response to the gospel message. In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul commends them for their "work produced by faith, labor prompted by love, and endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

Paul also expresses his gratitude for the warm reception he received from the Thessalonians when he first came to preach to them. Despite facing persecution and opposition (Acts 17:4-9), the Thessalonians eagerly received the gospel and became followers of Jesus. So Paul continues to write in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, "And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe."

When we regularly acknowledge Christ in all we do, we will be able to delight not only in Him but when we share His story!