Life is a fascinating blend of joyful moments and sorrowful moments, ups and downs, laughter and tears, disappointments and serendipities. Ecclesiastes 3 beautifully illustrates the vicissitudes of life. As Hazrat Khan aptly says, “Joy and sorrow are the light and shade of life; without light and shade no picture is clear”. I have previously written on dealing with disappointments, so today I want to take a more cheerful turn and write about celebrating God and life!

Reading through the Bible really does bring to the fore that God is a God of celebrations. In Luke 7:34, we get some insight into Jesus time on Earth, and it indicates that He loved a party! Leviticus 23 outlines feasts that God asked the Israelites to celebrate – The Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of First fruits, The Feast of Weeks, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Atonement, The Feast of Booths. There were a lot of celebrations, and work was expressly forbidden during some of these feasts. God probably didn’t want them to get side-tracked by other things, but to truly focus on these feasts and be intentional about celebrating them. These feasts were purposeful and important.

These feasts also show that there are different ways to celebrate. While some were more reflective and sober, others (Chagim) were to be celebrated with dancing, singing and the like. Some could be celebrated at home with families, others involved coming together with others to celebrate in a big way (with lots of food too 😊).

What was common among these festivals though was that they involved remembering ways in which God had blessed, rescued, protected, provided for the Israelites. To celebrate means to acknowledge a significant or happy event. It is so important that we don’t forget the many ways in which God has blessed us and been there for us. Even in the most challenging periods of life, we can celebrate the fact that we have life. As Ecclesiastes 9: 4 (NIV) reminds us, “Anyone who is among the living has hope —even a live dog is better off than a dead lion!” We can celebrate that we have abundant life, life to the full, a rich and satisfying life, eternal life, which Jesus so graciously came to gift us with! (John 10:10b, various translations).

I have also come to realise that the challenges and disappointments we experience allow us to truly appreciate the joys. It’s like the beauty of seeing a glimmer of the sun’s rays after a heavy rain and the promise of light and warmth captured in them; or feeling the first drops of rain after a drought, as they bring with them a hope of refreshing and revitalising. Henri Nouwen captures this so well, “Joy is hidden in sorrow and sorrow in joy. If we try to avoid sorrow at all costs, we may never taste joy, and if we are suspicious of ecstasy, agony can never reach us either. Joy and sorrow are the parents of our spiritual growth.”

Furthermore, these celebrations involved bringing offerings to God, which is a form of worship. We are made for and called to worship God. Worship can take various forms – reflecting, singing, dancing, giving, working as unto God, working for justice and righteousness, showing mercy. For in so doing, we reflect attributes of God, and this pleases Him. Milton Jones notes: “One of the most inspiring worship leaders there’s ever been: David Attenborough.” When I look around in nature and the fascinating creatures that exist, so diverse, so beautiful, so fascinating, sometimes even terrifying, it amazes and humbles me, and stirs my heart to worship. It also reinforces my belief in the God who created these various forms of life. Artists worldwide try their best to capture and recreate the scenes from nature in their art, but ultimately, the original artist still remains the God who created the Heavens and the Earth! As the famous hymn goes,

“Oh Lord My God, When I In Awesome Wonder,
Consider All The Worlds Thy Hands Have Made;
I See The Stars, I Hear The Rolling Thunder,
Thy Power Throughout The Universe Displayed…

When Through The Woods, And Forest Glades I Wander,
And Hear The Birds Sing Sweetly In The Trees.
When I Look Down, From Lofty Mountain Grandeur
And Hear The Brook, And Feel The Gentle Breeze.

Then Sings My Soul, My Saviour God, To Thee,
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!
Then Sings My Soul, My Saviour God, To Thee,
How Great Thou Art! How Great Thou Art!”*

Indeed, How great our God is! One thing I have become certain of over time is that God is truly good, and this is something I can always celebrate. I can always sing about His goodness and greatness, because it is a constant. It doesn’t change just because of my personal circumstances. Think about it… We can celebrate a christening and declare that God is good while doing so, even though at the very same time, someone somewhere else in the world might be mourning at a funeral. Is it not the same God in charge?

Another thing I have learnt, especially reading the book of Job (Chapters 39-42), is that God is truly wise and omniscient. There are so many complexities in this world I probably can’t even begin to wrap my head around, and yet He knows all these. He knows the perfect combination of events, the perfect timing for every situation that occurs. As such, I can celebrate Him no matter what is happening. I can celebrate His characteristics for these do not change (Malachi 3:6). I can celebrate the good and perfect gifts “coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). I can celebrate His steadfast love, which ‘never fails or gives up on me’. I can celebrate His thoughts towards me, which are vast and precious (Psalm 139). This Psalm reminds me just how often God thinks about me, and how much he knows me and loves me (despite all He knows about me!). Isn’t that just amazing and worth celebrating?

However, like I noted earlier, there are different types of celebrations, so this does not mean that I will go dancing and shouting for joy at a funeral, for Romans 12:15 says “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn”. And like Ecclesiastes 3 notes, there is a time and season for every activity under the Heavens.

It is very important though that our hearts are right with God before celebrating. As much as God loves feasts and celebrations, He also declares in Amos 5:21-24, in response to Israel’s rebellion, “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” God loves feasts, BUT He loves justice and righteousness even more, and we can celebrate Him by working towards these as well.

I pray specially today first and foremost that your life brings pleasure to God. As you do so, may your mouth will be filled with laughter, and your tongue with songs of joy. May it be said among people that God has done great things for you! (Psalm 126:2).

On this very day though, please join me to celebrate, with a grateful heart, God’s goodness – for He is good, and He truly has been, is, and will continue to be good to me. Join me to celebrate His love, mercy, faithfulness, kindness, trustworthiness, wisdom, presence, power, graciousness, holiness, creativity, and His all-round awesomeness. The Psalms urge us to ‘Clap your hands and Shout to God with loud songs of joy! Extol Him, all peoples! Sing praises to God our King, and come before Him with joyful songs, entering His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise!’ (Psalm 47, 100).

And as Psalm 150 wonderfully expresses and stirs us, I encourage us to:
Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
    praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
    praise him according to his excellent greatness!

Praise him with trumpet sound;
    praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
    praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals;
    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!!!

P.S.: For a soundtrack to this blogpost, and if you are looking for something to celebrate, I would also recommend the song “Behold our God”… you can listen to it here.

*Lyrics by Stuart K. Hine

Image source here.