Have you ever had one of those days when everything worked together? The kids ate their breakfast. The car started. You arrived to work early, and you remembered to pack your lunch. Your office mate spoke a kind word. You came home to a clean house and happy family. All just seemed right with the world.

The prophet Isaiah describes such a picture of God’s relationship with Israel not because the days have been perfect but because Israel is a true delight to God. Isaiah uses the image of marriage as a symbol. The uniting of two into one promises flourishing. Israel, once without companion, desolate and forgotten, lost and rejected, is now “married,” and the land flourishes just as the family of the young bride and groom is intended to flourish. No longer forsaken, “you shall be called, ‘Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken’” (Isa. 62:12). In other words, God rejoices over you.

Hold that thought for a moment. God, the creator of the universe, the energy of the cosmos, delights in you. The creation story of Genesis tells us so. After the stars and moons, the birds and plants, the seas and the skies, all the critters, big and small, “God saw all that God had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31, ap). So what if you yelled at the kids this morning or your colleague made you so mad that you did not speak to her all week? Maybe you have just had the biggest fight of your married life over the most insignificant thing—socks on the bathroom floor or the shared, messy tube of toothpaste.

No matter how off the mark, how far from peace and order your life may be, your Creator God still rejoices in you! Not because of what you do or don’t do. God delights in you because you are a child of God.