daily spiritual reflection - mar. 15

daily spiritual reflection

BIBLE READING FOR THE DAY: 

Praise the Lord.

Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of his faithful people.

Let Israel rejoice in their maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King.

Let them praise his name with dancing and make music to him with timbrel and harp.

For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory.

-Psalm 149:1-4

THOUGHT: One of the most important spiritual practices in the Bible is that of celebration. This psalm basically commands a party, celebrating God! Write new songs and sing them, get together and assemble people to celebrate with you, be glad, rejoice, dance, make music! God loves a party, and as this psalm says, he "takes delight in his people." Think of what it felt like being a little kid at your birthday party, with your parents (or other relatives/guardians) hovering around, beaming, taking pictures of you, completely delighting in your joy and celebration.

With God, we never lose that aspect of childlike delight. He will always be infinitely older than us, always be a parent to us, and always have the grace and delight that a good parent has for his child. And to God, growing up isn't about losing the party of life, or getting cynical or 'realistic'. Growing up is coming to terms with this fact that to God, we are always children, and there is a freedom found in that humble acceptance. A freedom to let God smile over us and delight in us in children-- to 'crown us with victory'. A freedom to live our lives as children always under God's guidance, and eternally being raised by him. And a freedom for us to celebrate and party away.

CHALLENGE:  Spend time today putting together a celebration. Gather a few people you know and have some fun-- do some things you used to do as kids. Maybe eat fruit roll-ups or dance to 90s music or go play frisbee in the park. Let yourself experience some childlike joy. As you're taking the time to celebrate the life God has given you, try out a few of the things the psalmist suggests: praise God in prayer by just chatting with him in your head as you have fun, or write a new song for him (maybe change the words of one of those 90s tunes...), or spend some time dancing for him when no one's watching.