Growing up in Nashville, I remember summer nights, going to an ice cream place with my parents and sisters called Dee’s Delights. Since we wouldn’t get out of the car, these impromptu outings were a chance to ride in the car barefoot. We’d eat our cones and shakes in the station wagon and it was, as the restaurant’s name would suggest, dee-lightful.

Delight is one of those words that I love, especially when it shows up in Scripture like in Psalm 18. This psalm, written by King David to praise God for rescuing him when he was in distress, starts off with this description: “For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.”

Later we read, “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the Lord was my support.” Then comes one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible: “He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.”

The idea of God looking at me and feeling delighted touches a deep place inside me. We all want to be accepted and loved and cared for, and to know that my Creator “reached down from on high and took hold of me” is humbling and comforting. He wants us to do more than just survive. He wants us to have the ease to roam freely in a spacious place, away from fear. And (bonus!) the assurance of His love for me, in spite of my flaws, makes it easier for me to love other flawed people.

I read a quote from author Max Lucado about this psalm that said, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, he’ll listen. He can live anywhere in the universe, and he chose your heart. And the Christmas gift he sent you in Bethlehem? Face it, friend. He’s crazy about you. When you feel overwhelmed and frightened by the “enemies” in your life, remember David’s song. God is your rock and your protector. He is able and willing to save you because he delights in you.”

On a good day, we might be tempted to think that God saved us because of how great we are…until we mess up. Then we realize that God must have different reasons for loving us that extend way past our ability to act right. (Thank goodness!) God saving us displays His mercy and His unique brand of justice. It gives us another reason to glorify Him, because we could never save ourselves. But in the same way that you look at the face of a newborn who you love so completely even before that baby has done anything for you, God delights in you.