The Gospel of IsaiahSample

Do You Delight the Lord?

The Almighty Creator, the great and holy God, vast and eternal, delights in the man or woman who is humble, who is contrite in spirit, and who trembles at His Word. God loves to see these three traits in us.

The three traits go together. If you are humble, then you will be contrite in spirit, and you will tremble at God’s Word. If you are contrite in spirit, then you will be humble, and you will tremble at God’s Word. If you tremble at God’s Word, then you will be humble, and contrite in spirit. The three traits go together and reflect a profound surrender and submission to God.

Who are the humble? Humble people know that everything good in their life comes from God. The humble are dependent on God, even desperate for God. There is no sense of self-reliance, self-promotion, or self-exaltation. These are the people who humble themselves before God in surrender and humble themselves before other people in service. The humble person is focused not on himself but upon God and other people. 

What about the contrite in spirit? People who are contrite in spirit are broken because of their sin. When the Spirit of God gently exposes some sin in their life, there is not hardened defiance before God but tender brokenness. There is the same spirit that the tax collector exhibited in Luke 18, when he felt too broken to even lift his eyes toward heaven, but simply cried out, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” The contrite in spirit are quick to confess their sins to God.

What does it mean to tremble at God’s Word? These are the people who have a deep reverence and respect for the Bible as the living Word of God. They know that this is not a human book, but God’s book; therefore, they treasure it. They prize it. They savor it. And, most importantly, they obey it. They feel such a responsibility before a holy God to obey whatever they read in His Word.

Is this you? Humble? Contrite in spirit? Trembling at God’s Word? These are the people who delight the heart of God.