Daily devotional, June 8, 2024
Reason to celebrate
"God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’"
Job 33:28
Lately, I have noticed that there are more and more national days meant to celebrate something in our lives. There’s a national friendship day, national donut day, national siblings day, national pancakes day and other random “holidays” meant to make something trend in the internet sphere.
While photos and messages geared towards celebrating these “holidays” could inspire some people, followers of Jesus like us should know the best reason to celebrate. And those who have a personal relationship with the Lord know that having a personal encounter with Him and knowing Him and His words are the best reason to celebrate.
In the Old Testament the story was told about how the Israelites received God’s word once again. This was after they had been released from captivity, got back to their homeland, and started rebuilding their lives.
Upon hearing the words and refreshing their knowledge about God’s commands they broke into tears realizing their own sinfulness. But one of their leaders, Nehemiah, calmed them and instead told them to celebrate. He assured the Israelites that the declaration of God’s word and their consequent feelings of grief is proof that God is working in their lives.
"Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
The same holds true for early Christians as told in the New Testament. Knowing God more through Christ Jesus also pushed them to be joyful and enjoy each others’ presence:
"Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Acts 2:46-47
When we realize that God is present in our life, and we delight in Him by seeking Him more and more everyday, we become joyful. The joy that we have in our heart is not the kind that dissipates when the excitement fades, or the lights are turned off. The joy coming from knowing God transcends any type of circumstance we find ourselves in.
"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you.”
Psalm 5:11
So how do we rejoice in the Lord? How do we sense His presence in our lives?
The answer is to seek Him, and seek Him faithfully. We do not just seek God on Sundays when we go to church. We ought to seek Him every single day of our lives. We are meant to pray to him by praising Him, saying sorry for our sins and promising to stop sinning. We also thank Him for the graces and mercies we receive, and ask for His help and guidance. God is glorified when we show our dependence to Him.
"Glory in His holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually!Remember the wondrous works that He has done,His miracles and the judgments he uttered,"
1 Chronicles 16:10-13
We also show delight in the Lord by regularly reading, studying, and reflecting on His words. Likewise, we rejoice in Him when we spend time with fellow believers to rejoice in His goodness, as well as when we live our faith by loving others.
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Philippians 4:4-7
Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on Psalm 30 to dig deeper on today’s topic.
Reflection Question: Do you delight in the Lord? Can you feel and rejoice over His presence in your life?
Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me the best gift I could ever receive — getting to know You and receiving your presence and eternal life. Help me make others get to know you too, so that they too can take delight in you and experience in their hearts the best reason to celebrate. Amen.
