24. Celebrate…
And Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing to prepare. This is a sacred day before our Lord.
Nehemiah 8:10
The master was full of praise. Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling a small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!”
Matthew 25:21
“Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbours and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” Parable of the Lost
Luke 15:8-10
As I have grown older, I have decided to celebrate every birthday with a zero on the end! For my 50th it was a lovely dinner at a local restaurant with family and friends and a trip to France. For my 60th I threw a black and red themed party. For my 70th I spent the whole month celebrating with family and friends – afternoon tea, dinners at restaurants, a trip to Sydney and Canberra, coffees, and more! I love to celebrate, and we don’t do it enough!
We’ve been talking so far about how we need to find our dreams and purpose together with God; prepare for the journey of discovery; watch out for the pitfalls; look for opportunities; and much more. This can all be hard work, so we need to balance the effort with times of celebration, partying.
When the Israelites had returned to Jerusalem after the long exile and being in captivity (read about it in the book of Ezra) they found Jerusalem in ruins. Now, in the book of Nehemiah, we have the account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem to restore the boundaries of the city. God commissioned Nehemiah to lead the work, the people were rallied, and, with much hard slogging, the walls were rebuilt. What happened next? A party. Yay!
Everyone got together, they listened to Ezra reading the word of God and then they prepared heaps of the best food and drink and celebrated their achievement.
Fast forward to the Gospels. Jesus tells lots of stories, parables, to help people understand the principles of God’s kingdom. In several he tells about people who have worked hard for their master (Matthew 25) or who have searched diligently for something that was lost (Luke 15: 8-10). In both stories success is greeted with celebration, partying.
As we come to the end of this series let’s also look forward to the end of your journey, the accomplishment of the dream, the desire, the purpose you discovered God had for you. You have expectantly waited for this moment which may already have arrived or may be years away. When you come to that point don’t forget to celebrate with your friends, family, those who have walked the journey with you, and with God. I have noticed that at the conclusion of each episode of the television program Great Designs (English, New Zealand, or Australian), when the magnificent house the builders had dreamed of is finished, there is always a party. Champagne and goodies to eat as they celebrate what has been accomplished.
But don’t only leave the celebrating to the end. Celebrate each milestone – the laying the foundations; the erection of the outer walls; the interior walls; the plumbing and electricals; etc. You may not be building a house but your dream consists of steps – I had a dream of publishing my writing and there were so many steps – I had to decide what to write; how to publish; where to publish; learn the process of designing a blog; designing the blog; tying up my journal entries; creating pages, categories, posts for my blog; and launching this site. So many steps but each needs to be celebrated in some small way as I build towards the launch.
As you travel your journey of expectancy, pause, reflect, and celebrate at each step what you have already accomplished with those who are journeying with you.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for my journey so far which I celebrate today with you. Thank you for being with me, guiding me, inspiring me to write the words you have given to me and, above all, celebrating each milestone with me.
Amen
Action: Look back over your journey so far. What have you achieved; what obstacles have you overcome; how have you grown in your walk with God? (Make sure to journal what you discover) Celebrate your achievements and treat yourself to a coffee, a meal out with friends, flowers, champagne (whatever floats your boat) and then press on towards the next step or dream.
Journal your thoughts:
