“God wishes us to take true pleasure with him in our salvation, and in this he wishes us to be greatly comforted and strengthened, and so he wants our souls to be happily filled with this, through his grace; for we are his delight; he takes pleasure in us eternally, and so shall we in him, through his grace.” Julian of Norwich.
A “vicious circle” is a chain of events which each make a situation worse than before. A “virtuous” circle does the opposite; it creates an upward spiral of increasingly favorable results. It’s the latter that Julian describes here:
- We take pleasure in our salvation by God
- God takes pleasure in our pleasure in our salvation.
- We take pleasure in His pleasure.
- God takes pleasure in our pleasure.
And on and on it goes, ever upwards, ever increasing joy and delight in one another. A mutual pleasure that doesn’t end in this world and goes on forever in the world to come.
Just as a Father takes pleasure in the happiness of his children, so God takes pleasure in our happiness. Just as children love to make their father happy, so we love to make God happy. Yes, you can make God happy by enjoying yourself in the pleasures He has provided for you in grace and in providence.
The more you receive and celebrate God’s pleasure, the more pleasure you give to Him.
“The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear Him,
In those who hope in His mercy.” (Psalm 147:11)