Louise Gevers

“Praise the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with tambourine and dancing, praise him with the strings and flute, praise him with the clash of cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.” Psalm150:1-6

What a surprise when we realise that these six, short verses of Psalm 150 hold a celebration, complete with full orchestra, dancing and singing; a wholehearted celebration, which is a very appropriate end to a book packed with God’s amazing involvement in human life in all its complexity. He’s not a fair weather God.

How sad our lives would be with nothing to celebrate. May’s reflections focus on celebrating something each day: “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) God has ensured that there is always something to enrich our lives during the good times and the hard times that we all experience.

Celebrating is about blessing; on a grand scale it’s about anniversaries, weddings and achievements, but it has simpler aspects too. It’s about stopping to acknowledge and appreciate each special thing that we’ve been given in our lives; to stop taking for granted love, comfort, daily provisions, joys and sorrows, and to say thank you. Doing this brings happiness that makes each new day a reason to celebrate.

Each day we have a choice: to be grateful for the things that add value to our lives and celebrate them, or ignore them and lose out on fulfilment. Gratitude makes our hearts full. “The blessing of the LORD brings wealth and he adds no trouble to it.” Proverbs 10:22 Recognising that we are cared for gives us hope; but ignoring our blessings leaves us feeling depressed and abandoned without knowing why. An honest evaluation of where we are in our lives often helps.

We have homes, families, friends and employment; and, added to that, God provides us with intelligent minds, brilliant talents, and wisdom from His Word to run our lives and businesses. We are encouraged to, “Trust in the LORD with all y(our) heart and lean not on (our) own understanding; in all y(our) ways acknowledge him, and he will make (our) paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) When we acknowledge our blessings from God, and depend on him to sustain us, we experience deep joy and fulfilment. When we don’t, all our splendour is as empty as a politician’s promises.

Did you notice if the sun came up this morning? Did you hear birds chirping at dawn despite the cold and rain? Did your heart warm at the thought of your children’s hugs? Did you delight to hear your husband singing in the shower? Was your tummy satisfied with some breakfast? Did you celebrate?

Prayer: Loving Father, thank you for all that you’ve given me to make my life a daily celebration. May I remember to stop to count my blessings on the good days and the bad and return grateful thanks and praise to you always.