Delighting in God: the Secret Spice of the Gospel

Delighting in God–it rings beautifully, doesn’t it? A precious, vivacious gal I recently met at the Spark Christian Podcast Conference in Houston lives a life that exudes delight in our faithful, loving Father. I hope you enjoy podcaster and women’s ministry leader Stephanie Rousselle’s story and are encouraged by it as I was. Enjoy!

Delighting in God

I grew up fiercely atheist. Stephen Hawking was my hero. Religion was a man-made crutch for the weak. I was strong and capable, very much in control of my life, and I certainly didn’t need anyone’s help, thank you very much.

But God.

I came to the US as a sixteen-year-old foreign exchange student from France. It “just so happened” that the family who hosted me for the year were followers of Christ—and wholeheartedly, too! Many late-night conversations, coupled with their unrelenting acts of love and kindness to me, led me to wonder—could it be true?

Had Jesus really existed?

And, could He truly be who He claimed to be?

A long struggle ensued, with my self-control freak tendencies, my natural pride and self-sufficiency on one hand, and Christ and His Spirit wooing me to Him, on the other.

You know Who won.

Surrender to God

This was almost 30 years ago. I’ve never looked back. Jesus is increasingly becoming the absolute delight of my life. I surrender every day in joyful, giddy awe that He would choose to woo me to Himself. The crazy part is, He invites us to change lives alongside Him. That’s where our stories catch purpose—for His glory, and our delight!

5 Ways to Delight Yourself in God

1. Study Scripture with a passion—whether you feel like it or not. If you don’t have that passion, ask Him for grace to love Scripture. Mark my words—He will deliver.
   
2. Surround yourself with godly content— a Jesus-centric church, Bible studies and podcasts (check out my podcast, Gospel Spice!). It’s never been easier than for our generation.
   
3. Worship. Worship! At every opportunity. Commutes, housekeeping, cooking, morning routines, exercise times, gardening—all are opportunities to crank up the volume and worship through music.
   
4. Find someone in whom you see Jesus: watch and learn from them. And dare to consider asking them to mentor you.
   
5. And then, pray. Talk to God. Tell Him how awesome He is—not because He needs to hear it, but because you do. You need to remember who He is, because your identity is grounded in who you think God is—and who you think He says you are. Prayer is a thundering roller-coaster. Prayer will unleash the Spirit to court a dead heart to life through surrender to the Life-giver. In this process, you will find yourself falling in love deeper with your breathtaking Savior, as you remember who He is, and what He has done for you.

More Faith-Building Posts and Testimonies to Read:

• 5 Ways to Grow Your Faith Today
• God’s Answer (Christian writer and speaker Tracy Crump’s Story about her mother’s medical miracle.)
• Iris Peterson (Finding freedom from the spirit of rejection.)

Jesus as Our All-in-All

So there you have it. When we focus on making Jesus our all-in-all, He invites us to partner with Him to alter eternity forever. That, my friend, is how one becomes the salt of the world, or, as I like to say, the spice of the gospel.

About Stephanie

Stephanie Rousselle is a wife, mom, podcaster, public speaker, writer, and women’s ministry director. She has lived the last two decades on three continents, four countries and five cities. She thrives on Bible-centered inspirational writing and speaking, and dark chocolate. She loves few things more than a good laugh, especially at herself, because she understands that grace is real, and life is short. Her passion is to give God all the glory, because she has discovered that He promises to delight her with His very own presence. She wants to inspire others to see that God is beautiful. You will find her at www.stephanie-rousselle.com where you can subscribe to receive her God-centered content directly in your email. 

Join Stephanie to find out more about how to taste the spice of the gospel by checking out her podcast, Gospel Spice. You will easily find it on ITunes or at www.gospel-spice.com. Each week, Stephanie invites you to dig into Scripture in culturally relevant ways to unearth gems of wisdom and faith to deepen your personal intimacy with God. As we equip ourselves with spiritual tools to delight in the glory of God, we become the spice of the gospel ourselves—the salt of the earth for the world to taste and see that the Lord is good! “God’s glory. Our delight” is her motto!

www.stephanie-rousselle.com
www.gospel-spice.com
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