“You may spend the silver on anything you want: cattle, sheep, goats, wine, beer, or anything you desire. You are to feast there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice with your family ... And the LORD your God will bless you in all the work of your hands that you do.”
-Deuteronomy 14:26-29
In the Old Testament, every year the people of God were commanded to set aside a tenth of all the produce grown in their fields. God asked them to set it aside so they could bring their produce to the place where God chose His presence to dwell.
Once there, surrounded by friends and family, they would celebrate and partake of the blessing. If the distance was overly long or they had been too abundantly blessed that year, they were instructed to sell what they had earned in exchange for silver, take those earnings to the place God chose, and spend it on whatever they wanted.
Then God asked them to “feast there in the presence of the LORD” and rejoice with their family. God commands celebration. When I say that sentence out loud, a huge smile spreads across my face because—
I believe the truly courageous person has the courage to celebrate.
Now get this: the celebration described in Deuteronomy wasn’t just a silent thank-you prayer for the miraculous blessings God had given. It wasn’t time to spend alone in a closet or in the corner being secretly grateful to Him. It was shared in wide open spaces with God and family. And I’d like to include framily in that category too (friends + family = framily).
Celebration was purposeful. It was strategic. It was absolutely needed. It was a public proclamation of what God was doing in private. I find it interesting that God didn’t command them to simply celebrate in their own household. I mean, they could have just stayed home to celebrate. But God wanted to celebrate with them, and in turn their blessing would be a blessing to others.
Think about that for a moment. The God of the universe wants to celebrate with you. He wants
you to plan a celebration.
"He wants you to partake of the blessings He has gifted you. He wants you to share them with others and for a set place and time revel in them yourself—openly, freely."
Want to hear more about how scripture relates to this topic. Simply click this link and write "Chapter Nineteen" in the subject line for a free PDF download of Courage to Celebrate.
Purchase your copy of Courage to Walk today!
Photo Credit: Quang Anh Ha Nguyen, pexels.com
Comments