I should be in bed, but I'm convicted of a truth that needs to be shouted from the mountain tops. YOU ARE WONDERFUL!
There's this mentality in Christianity that you are a work in progress (true), but more so - that you need to be constantly worrying about doing better, seeking God more, giving more away, having better quiet times, being more thoughtful about how you spend your time. There's another mentality that to be pleased with yourself is to be arrogant or selfish. I think that the two mentalities get all twisted up with very disastrous results. Everyone ends up obsessing over themselves in a maximally stressful mindset. Reasons why this I find this horribly disturbing?
First of all, if you can't see the good in yourself and you're always worrying about self-improvement, you are going to bring that into your relationships with others. This is NOT attractive or life-giving. I'm usually exhausted just being in the presence of these type of people.
In the second place, it isn't your responsibility to perfect you. You are God's masterpiece - His work in progress. Therefore, it's ultimately His responsibility to make you everything you were first dreamed (by Him) to be. This isn't to excuse you from all responsibility - Paul did say to aim for perfection. But he certainly didn't say "obsess over perfection" and I distinctly remember Jesus saying "Do not worry" and I see a lot of Christians worrying about how they're doing in their walk with Christ. It's distressing to me because it doesn't display the sense of serenity and life-to-the-full that Christ emulated. You are responsible for one thing - how you choose to trust and believe God. Do you believe He'll get you to where He wants you? Then live life and wait for His correction. It comes differently for different people. The problem lies in when we try to standardize what works for us onto everyone else. Maybe you need to have more consistent quiet times in order to find more life, but maybe someone else needs to stop having legalistic quiet times in order to learn that God has the grace to speak to them at any point in their daily living - not just a specific time. The point is never condemnation - but freedom and life in Christ. Someone recently shared another blog post on facebook about how God simply enjoys watching us be ourselves.
I think that author was getting at the same idea. It's not about what you can do that pleases the Lord - it's about who you are. And He created you as you are - so of course He finds that delightful! So please be glad and rejoice in the good person that God made you. Deep down - we all have particular things we are pleased about in ourselves. Enjoy those things. I promise that the joy you display will draw others to you more quickly than any display of personal improvement!
May you enjoy God's delight over you today
