"We're Having a Party!"

All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.

Proverbs 15:15

Every day we have to decide if we're going to host a pity party -- in our hearts and minds-- or a festival. It's a mindset. It's faith. Or unbelief.

Will we believe God's promise that "in all these things (suffering, pain, persecution, danger, etc.) we'll be more than conquerors through Christ who loved us [while we were sinners]"  (Romans 8:37)? Will we believe that "nothing [such as angels or demons nor any powers]  in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:37-39)? Look, He is our total security! Hey! Time to celebrate! 

Over and over we can read throughout Scripture, God is glorified when His children are thankful and joyful towards Him. "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 6:16-18). 

He deeply loves His people and He wants us to be delighted in Him! "As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you. Now remain in my love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete" (John 15:9, 11).

God loves to see us celebrate Him. It's worship! Again, the verse  "...the cheerful heart has a continual feast" (Proverbs 15:15b). According to the NIV Commentary, when we have a cheerful heart,it states, "Life is as joyful and satisfying as the days of a festival." The ESV commentary says, "'feast' is a metaphor for joy!" It's the attitude of our hearts and minds that's described here, and the fruit is a festival-like life!

In Scripture, a festival was considered a celebration with people, food, and drink.[Duh, Polly.] God told the Israelites, "Three times a year you are to celebrate a festival to me,"  (Exodus 23:14).  They were so thankful for God's goodness they had parties! 

The first festival was the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, commemorating the mass exodus out of bondage in Egypt.  Then God commanded, "Celebrate the Feast of the Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field" (Exodus 23:16a). This was also called the Feast of Weeks because it was held seven weeks after the first festival. They were to celebrate the blessings of the first harvest in the promised land. The third festival was The Feast of the Ingathering (Exodus 23:16b). This was also called the Feast of the Tabernacles or Booths. Since they lived in temporary shelters when God brought them out of Egypt, they celebrated that they had new homes and rejoiced in the produce of the land where He brought them.

They gave God glory in their festivals for His generous provision! What about us today? Do we have any reason to be cheerful today and maybe even plan an impromptu, informal type of festival to the Lord? "A happy heart makes the face cheerful" (Proverbs 15:13a). This can be contagious!  "A cheerful heart is good medicine" (Proverbs 17:22a). It would require us to take our eyes off ourselves and look to Jesus with thanksgiving. But hey, it could be an amazing party!

God wants us to celebrate His love for us. He celebrates us -- in His own way -- "He delights in the well-being of His servants" (Psalm 35:27). The Israelites suffered through so many painful trials as we all do, but God never lets us go, He carries us when we need His strength to persevere.

When Ezra read the recently recovered Book of the Law of Moses to the Israelites, they wept over their past sins. "Nehemiah said, 'Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength'" (Nehemiah 8:10). 

So it is for us today!  We sorrowfully repent of our sins and He forgives us. What follows  repentance is joy! Our thankfulness and joy in God gives us strength, energy, and encouragement. We should celebrate it. 

My mother had a cheerful heart and she could make anything a festival. However, she had tragic circumstances fall on her and she had good reasons to be grumpy, depressed, self-centered, bitter, angry, and negative. Her husband walked out the door one day and literally abandoned her and their five children. Yep. We ranged in age from toddler to teenager. He left a trail of broken hearts in all of us, in different ways, but Mom rose to the occasion to hold us together with her love and care! Wow! Yes, she did. 

If we stopped for ice cream and sat under an umbrella outside the ice cream shop to devour the creamy treats, she'd say, "We're having a party!" Or if we were eating her homemade egg salad sandwiches at the beach she'd say the same thing. As we were often playing golf and eating the famous Biltmore Golf Course (Coral Gables, FL) huge hot dogs "between nines" at the halfway house, she'd say, "We're having a party!" Yep. 

Her life was a continual feast and she wanted my four siblings and me to learn that if we had a cheerful heart we could  have lives like that, too. She was just simply grateful and it was easy for her to celebrate life!

We all have that choice, Sisters.What do we want for our families? Friends? Community? It's a gift of grace from God to be thankful, joyful, unselfish, and to love unconditionally, in spite of our circumstances. And since it's possible, we can ask God for it because, "No good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is upright..blessed is the one who trusts in Him" (Psalm 84:11)!

Mom obviously made a choice to hold her beloved family together and she really loved us all unconditionally. She had so much pain from their divorce, and I believe she always had a lingering sting because he didn't just abandon her, but their whole family. In spite of it all, by the grace of God, what consistently came out of her was an abundance of love, laughter, and the joy of life! She was as joyful as a festival to me! 

Polly💖
Matthew 5:16

This is a revised version of my devotion in Totally Devoted 3,the third book in my trilogy.