Stalked by Delight

Last week, as I sat in prayer, I asked the Lord: “What does a flourishing Jane look like?” It’s been a hard, challenging season of prayer and growing in trust, and I desperately wanted to feel like myself again: joyful, peaceful, and present.

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I was expecting to hear, “She works out three times a week,” “She cooks healthy meals and stops eating Levain cookies for lunch,” and/or “She gets lots of good, deep sleep.” (All things that, quite frankly, are not happening right now.)

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But instead, I heard, “She recognizes her belovedness as my daughter, and finds her delight in me.”

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This word, “delight,” struck me, because I had truly just talked to one of my best friends about how much I admire her delight. She finds joy in the simplest of things and lives with childlike wonder. I want to be that person: to live daily from a place of delight. But in difficult seasons, delight can seem so dang hard to come by. However, as soon as I heard the word in prayer, delight began to stalk me.

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On Sunday, the homily was all about delight. Our priest shared that a more direct translation of the Transfiguration captures God’s words as “This is my beloved son, in whom I delight.” The homily explored how these are the only words spoken directly by God the Father in the New Testament, at Jesus’ baptism and again at the Transfiguration. How incredible, that the most important thing the Father wanted to say to us is that Jesus is His delight – and He can be ours as well.

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Later that same day, I was watching an interview with Oprah, and she shared that her favorite bible verse is Psalm 37:4: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. My jaw dropped – delight was everywhere! A quick Bible Gateway search revealed that the word “delight” is used 111 times throughout scripture.

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It all came together after a particularly powerful confession, in which the priest helped to reveal a place I’ve been striving instead of receiving: I have been spending so much time and energy trying to “achieve” delight through my own efforts, but in reality, delight is a gift from God. He is constant, present, and tirelessly pursuing me – and He’s doing the same for you! I felt like the scales fell from my eyes, and a lightness and joy broke through the clouds that have been stewing in my heart for months. What a relief that we don’t have to do this alone, that God and the delight He offers us is a gift, freely given.

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We were not promised an easy life. In fact, following Jesus makes our lives harder in some ways, because it requires us to surrender our desire for control and trust that He has a good plan for our lives. BUT that doesn’t mean that He wants our lives to lack delight: it’s just the opposite! Every day is filled with opportunities to see the goodness of God, if only we create the space to recognize and appreciate them. And allowing Him and His providence to provide for us fills our lives with the delight of being seen, known, and loved by the One who gives the best and sweetest gifts.

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The lightness and joy I have felt for the past few days surpasses any human explanation. It’s the fruit of many prayers, honest confession, and the grace of God, whose presence I can feel so intimately. I want to stay in this place of delight, because it’s a place of peace, hope, and joy. And I trust that God, who has led me here, will continue to lead me one step at a time – and I can follow Him, with delight.

This week, I invite all of us to find our delight in the Lord, the one who never leaves us, never forsakes us, and desires the very best for us. Do you believe that? If so, praise God for His goodness. If this is a struggle for you right now, take it to prayer. Allow the Lord to remind you that you are His beloved daughter (or son!) and ask Him to help you find delight in Him.

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Delightfully yours,

Jane

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What I’m loving right now:

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​It’s time for our annual reader survey (Win a copy of our book + help us out!)​

My friends! Every year I send out a survey to gather information on who you are and what you want, so that The SundayMonday can serve you better. This survey will take 2-3 minutes maximum, and everyone who fills it out will be entered in a raffle to win a Starbucks gift card AND a copy of our book Now What. Please, please, please fill this out, your responses are of infinite value to me!

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Ep. 70 | Show me your idols

As we enter more deeply into Lent, let’s reflect on our idols together. One way to do this is to ask ourselves: Jesus + _____ = happiness. What is it, beyond Jesus, that I look to for my fulfillment, my satisfaction, and my happiness? In this episode, I’ll talk a bit about our shallow and deep idols, and how we can invite God in to help us release those in order to love Him more fully. Listen on Spotify, iTunes, or Anchor!

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Cute Catholic boutique sale!

I love January Jane’s store, and she’s having a huge moving sale right now: check it out here! I just bought the “Holy Family flower tee” and I’m so excited to wear it 🙂

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Prayer Requests

• For a friend on the anniversary of her father’s passing
• For all of the readers and listeners of The SundayMonday

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