The Importance of Celebration

As I’ve worked with pastors, I’ve noticed a curious trend among most of them. They don’t celebrate. They’ll pray about an impending challenge. They’ll work and prepare to be ready to meet that challenge and then, when that challenge is met and overcome, they’ll simply move on to the next challenge. They’re all about the grind. In fact, I’ve had to remind several of them to take a few moments and celebrate their success. They need to stop and give praise to God for His goodness and faithfulness to us in the midst of our challenges.

When you read the Scriptures, people are praising God all the time. Miriam praises God. Moses praises God. David praises God. Simeon and Anna dance and sing at the appearance of Jesus. Paul is famous for interrupting his letters with paragraphs of praise. Even Jesus stops at certain moments in His ministry to praise the Father.

Praise and celebration should be a normal practice, a well-rehearsed habit for followers of Christ. Praise should define our lives.

So, why doesn’t it, and why does this matter? Because every victory is preparation for our next battle. Remember David? When David stood in front of Goliath, he told his brothers that he had defeated the lion and the bear and God would give Goliath into his hands. Did you catch that? David said he had defeated a lion. A lion! Sometime in the past, David had stood between a lion and his flock, holding nothing more than his slingshot and a few rocks. Somehow, he killed the lion and protected his flocks.

Now, if I had killed a lion, I would retire early and write my memoirs. I would make sure everyone knew that on my day of destiny, I was brave and strong and meaner than a lion. That would become the defining moment of my life. I would design a new family crest with me standing over the conquered lion. I would become Michael the Lion Killer.

And if that wasn’t enough, David killed a bear as well. Have you ever seen a bear? I’m not talking about a tame bear at the circus. I’m talking about a bear in the wild. Have you ever seen a bear lumbering through the forest looking for lunch? When they get the idea they’re near food, they’re unstoppable. They can tear through automobiles, barn doors, and metal trash cans. They’ll break into homes and yes, they will ruin your day if you’re standing between them and food. Or their cubs…the ferocity of mama bears is legendary.

And David killed a bear. He killed a lion and he killed the bear. I’m sure on those days, David celebrated. He would have danced and praised God and told the story over and over to anyone who would listen. The celebrations and the constant storytelling wove the story of David’s victories deeper and deep into the fabric of David’s life. He believed God could because he had two stories where God did.

Only after David killed the lion and the bear was the shepherd ready to face Goliath.

Remember, every victory is preparation for the next battle. Strength builds on strength and victory builds on victory. In our ministries, we face giants, dragons and enemies of all shapes and sizes. From members with different agendas to those in our lives who actively want to destroy our ministries all together. Yes, whether you realize it or not, there are people around you who would delight in your fall.

So, we pray God will deliver us. We pray and yes, sometimes we fight because there are things in life worth fighting for and God grants us victory. We survive. By God’s grace, we overcome. What we thought was impossible, God has done! When we couldn’t see a way through, God led us step by step through it all! Hallelujah and amen!

Now, what do most of us do? We go back to work. We don’t take time to praise. We don’t tell the story to our friends. We don’t make an offering to God. We assume that victory was something that was always going to happen and we get back to work.

Not so in the Bible. The shepherd celebrates when he brings the lost sheep home. The woman finds her necklace and calls her friends to party with her. The father throws a banquet for the lost son who returns home. All of heaven celebrates, we’re told, when one lost person comes home to faith in Christ.

Paul tells the Philippians to make their request known to God with thanksgiving. Most of us misread this passage. Paul isn’t saying that we’re to be grateful for the hard times we’re going through. Instead, Paul is teaching us to pray with bold confidence based on God’s faithfulness to us in our past. David prayed for success in his battle with Goliath based on God granting him success over bears and lions. Praise be to God! He granted me victory then. He’ll give me victory now.

Slow down. Find a place and time to praise God for all He has done. Praise Him for what He’s doing now. Remember, we’re not just having a party. We’re getting ready for the next battle. Praise Him for what He will do. Let go! Sing! Dance! Celebrate! God is good! He is faithful!

And remember, our next victory may rest on how hard we partied today. When David faced Goliath, he remembered the party he threw after he killed the lion. He thought about his worship after he killed the bear. His praise was preparing him for his next battle.

Take a minute. Praise God for all He has done in your life. Remember this moment. In the middle of your next battle, your celebration of what God has done in the past will give you the confidence and hope you need to face the battle in this moment. Remember. Celebrate. Praise God like your life depends on it.

And don’t forget. Every victory is preparation for the next battle.

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.