| Yesterday's Bible Study |
Of all the thoughts you may have about God, have you considered that He takes pleasure in you? This thought, clearly articulated in Psalm 149, makes my head spin. I look at myself and so often see a sinner instead of the saint that the Lord has declared Christians to be. However, you can see the error of my ways in that last sentence: I look at myself and see me, whereas God looks at me and sees Jesus.
When we become Christians, we put on the righteousness of Christ. Who we once were is dead and now Christ lives within us which is what makes us Christians. This is who we are. When God looks at us, He sees Jesus and He takes pleasure in us. This means it is also okay for us to take pleasure in ourselves--we can rest knowing that Jesus lives within us and that every day we are becoming more and more like Him.
The Lord also takes pleasure in us because we are His creation. He made us from the dirt and He loves us like a parent loves a child. Even if we do something wrong and shameful, He will receive us. He will not erase the consequences of our wrongdoing, but He wants us to always come to Him because He takes pleasure in us.
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The second half of the verse says He will give salvation to those who are humble. To be saved, in other words, we must understand why we need salvation. We must take a proper view of our sin--as something hateful that forever separates us from God--to receive the Gospel. Our understanding of the Gospel will be as deep as our understanding of the gravity of sin. And then, when we call out to the Lord, He will beautify us with salvation. He will wash our sins clean, erased before Him, and welcome us into His Kingdom.
Today, we can rest in the fact that the Lord takes pleasure in us because Jesus has made a way to wash us clean. When the Lord sees us, He does not see messed up sinners asking Him for favors. Rather, He sees His children sanctified by the holiness of Jesus Christ.
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