Celebrating God

 Psalm 81:1–16 (ESV):  

1  Sing aloud to God our strength; 

shout for joy to the God of Jacob! 

 2  Raise a song; sound the tambourine, 

the sweet lyre with the harp. 

 3  Blow the trumpet at the new moon, 

at the full moon, on our feast day. 

 4  For it is a statute for Israel, 

a rule of the God of Jacob. 

 5  He made it a decree in Joseph 

when he went out over the land of Egypt. 

  I hear a language I had not known: 

 6  “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; 

your hands were freed from the basket. 

 7  In distress you called, and I delivered you; 

I answered you in the secret place of thunder; 

I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah 

 8  Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! 

O Israel, if you would but listen to me! 

 9  There shall be no strange god among you; 

you shall not bow down to a foreign god. 

 10  I am the Lord your God, 

who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. 

Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it. 

 11  “But my people did not listen to my voice; 

Israel would not submit to me. 

 12  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, 

to follow their own counsels. 

 13  Oh, that my people would listen to me, 

that Israel would walk in my ways! 

 14  I would soon subdue their enemies 

and turn my hand against their foes. 

 15  Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, 

and their fate would last forever. 

 16  But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, 

and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” 

This psalm is a call from God to His people to remember to celebrate Him. To rejoice at the festivals that He has proclaimed and recall why they should be celebrated. God is reminding the Israelites that they have reason to celebrate. Recalling to their minds His salvation from Egypt, His provision and faithfulness. At times, we all need reminding that God deserves to be praised, worshipped and honoured. To take time to look at what God has done, consider His promises and recollect His works of the past. God instructs His people to make time to reflect and celebrate. For when you stop to consider, His marvellous character and unlimited kindness can easily be seen.

God recounted to the Israelites that He had set apart particular times to celebrate Him through feasts and festivals. This was so that they could not only recall the great things He has done, but that they could also have fun doing it. God wants His people to; rejoice, make music, sing, dance, laugh and be happy. What a great God! He not only does some amazing things, but He wants us to publicly celebrate together. Plus He joins us in those festivities as He says this is 'our feast day'. Not your day of remembrance, but 'our' day of celebration. In the fun and partying, God is there with us. As you celebrate who God is, He joins in - isn't that wonderful! So as God has given us set moments and festivals throughout the year in order to set our minds on Him, He is present. Therefore have fun celebrating His goodness. Participate in annual festivities no matter how old or young you are or how much you want to, because God tells you to, plus He will be there. You need to ensure that you make time to recall the works and character of God and the impact He has had in your life, across the World and throughout history. It is God's expectation that you do, and He will join you in it.

It is good to honour God through celebration. Getting together and enjoying yourselves through recollecting that God delivers and answers (v7) is a good thing and God recommends it, in fact He commands it, ‘it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob’. It is a duty of God’s people and His legal right to be celebrated! It is essential that God’s faithfulness is remembered. It is important because God is worthy of being rejoiced in - He deserves it. Plus it is essential that we learn to enjoy God and His works and wonders because we are good at going astray (v11-13). Therefore God tells the people of God that it is His right to be praised and to be celebrated, publicly and regularly, and it is good for you and I to remember His greatness for He does, ‘subdue their enemies’ and ‘satisfy you’. Therefore make it a part of your life to set aside time and make an effort to celebrate the wonderful breakthroughs, miracles, provision, consistency, love and faithfulness of God with others. 

No matter if you feel like life is easy or hard, it is important to set your mind to remember and celebrate God's goodness. Ensure that you set aside the time to attend celebration events that commemorate God’s works and goodness, get involved and enjoy God. The Israelites had a lot of festivals and events to commemorate through the year to help them recall His provision, love, mercy and salvation. In His kindness to us, God has set an expectation that we enjoy Him and His goodness by getting together to enjoy recounting His goodness and gifts with festivals and feasting. He has given us great reasons to party!

When are you next going to celebrate God with others?