It all began in Mr.
Scibby's 8th-grade math class, where I sat next to the best-looking
boy I had ever seen. We talked. He smiled.
I was a goner. My first teenage
crush. I thought about him
constantly. I doodled his name all over
my notebooks. He was the major topic of
conversation between my girlfriends and me.
I made up silly songs about him.
Math even became my favorite class because I would get to see him. In short, I was crazy about him.
I know this was
just a schoolgirl crush, but it reflects an eternal truth. God, the lover of my
soul, is crazy about me! He thinks about
me all the time.[1] He has written my name on the palm of His
hand.[2] He rejoices over me with singing.[3] As my former pastor, Stan Coleman, often
says, “if God had a refrigerator my picture would be on it.” What's more, He would be pointing it out
with pride to all the angels.
Somehow, it is hard
for me to realize that God is emotionally attached to me. There have been times I felt like God was
angry with me. On many occasions, I
imagined that He was disappointed in me.
But mostly, it seemed to me that
God is too busy running the universe to waste any mental energy on me. How delighted I was to learn I was mistaken. God is not angry with me. He loves and accepts me completely in His
beloved Son Jesus.
Maybe you are saying,
“Oh come on Leecy, you sure have an inflated sense of self-importance.” As I write this, I can see why you might
feel this way. But as I have studied
God’s word, I am thoroughly convinced that God is crazy about me. He is crazy
about you, too! He is crazy about all his children.
As you read the
following Scriptures, highlight all the phrases that reveal that God is crazy
about you.
For the LORD delights in His people; He crowns the humble with
salvation. (Psalm 149:4, NLT)
…the LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope
in His unfailing love. (Psalm 147:11, NIV)
May those who delight in My vindication shout for joy and
gladness; may they always say, "The LORD be exalted, who delights in the
well-being of His servant." (Psalm 35:27, NIV)
I pray that your hearts
will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future He
has promised to those He called. I want you to realize how much God has been
honored by acquiring His people. (Ephesians 1:18, NLT note)
How blessed is God! And what a
blessing He is! He's the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to
the high places of blessing in Him. Long before He laid down Earth's
foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to
be made whole and holy by His love. Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into
his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure He took in planning this!)
(Ephesians 1:3-5, MSG)
The LORD will hold you in His hands
for all to see--a splendid crown in the hands of God. Never again will you be
called the Godforsaken City or the Desolate Land. Your new name will
be the City of God's Delight and the Bride of God, for the LORD delights in you
and will claim you as His own. Your
children will care for you with joy, O Jerusalem, just as a young man cares for
his bride. Then God will rejoice over you as a bridegroom rejoices over his
bride. (Isaiah 62:3-5, NLT)
God delights in us, His
people. He is pleased beyond measure
when we trust His love for us. And when
we try to serve Him in any way, He is way over the top with joy. In fact, God considers Himself honored to
have acquired us as His people. He
considers it well worth all the effort He had to go through to call us His own.
Knowing I bring joy to God puts a smile on my face, too.
The Bible uses two
word-pictures to explain how crazy God is about us. First, we are called God's adopted
children. I have a nephew and niece who
are adopted. There were never two more
wanted children. My sister and her
husband dreamed, hoped and planned for the day when their bundles of joy would
arrive and become full-fledged members of our family. In the same way, God dreamed, hoped and
planned to adopt us into His family. He
has been waiting an eternity to bring us home: “Long before He laid down Earth's
foundations, He had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of His love, to
be made whole and holy by His love.” (Ephesians 1:4, MSG) I can’t
believe I am the focus of God’s love!
Can you? All I can say is, Wow!
Secondly, the Bible pictures God’s
people as His bride. Although I have
never married, I have imagined my wedding thousands of times. What I would wear. What the bridesmaids would wear. Where we would have the ceremony. (Under a gazebo overlooking a lake.) But most of all, I imagined the look of joy
on the groom’s face as I walked down the aisle.
Chances are I will never have the wedding of my dreams. But I’m thrilled that I’m going to be a part
of a much better wedding celebration.
God calls us His bride, and He is thrilled when He sees us walking down
the aisle toward Him. What an
unbelievable joy and privilege I have. I
make God smile. And so do you!
Learning the Lesson
Learning the Lesson
- Has there ever been a time when you were reluctant to approach God? Why do you think you felt that way?
- Do you ever think God has His Favorites and you are not one of them? What causes these feelings of inferiority?
- When a situation doesn’t turn out the way you planned, have you wondered if God is punishing you for something?
God is longing for you to
run into his arms: “Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come fearlessly into
God's presence, assured of His glad welcome.” (Ephesians 3:12, NLT)
[1] Psalm 139:17-18 NLT
[2] Isaiah 49:15-16a NLT
[3] Zephaniah 3:17 NLT
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