2 Samuel 6:14-15
David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.
There is an interesting celebration story in the Bible when David defeated his enemy and won back the world’s greatest and most important trophy at that time, the Ark of the Covenant. He had won a great victory for God, for Israel (his team), and for himself. (We have to always remember that we are playing for God, for our team, and for ourselves.) Upon seeing the Ark of the Covenant, David began dancing, and the entire country shouted and played music in celebration. Oddly, David’s wife began to complain about the celebrating. God intervened and reprimanded David’s wife for complaining.
Many perceive God as a stone faced figure, hovering over us waiting to pounce, and holding us hostage to religious rituals and legalistic obedience. That is not the Biblical portrayal of God. Instead He tells us that there is joy in His Presence (Lev 9:24, 1 Chr 29:22, Esther 8:15, Psalm 16:11, 21:6). The Ark of the Covenant was the very symbol and in fact the very Presence of God. It is the epicenter of joy in life. Praise is the Way into His Presence (Psalm 22:3). Of course He wants us to celebrate, because He wants us to be with Him. He is jealous for us and He wants His people to enjoy being with Him.
Last night our ATI Middle School Girls Pink Panthers, attired in 1980’s aerobics instructor attire, played for and won the Georgia Middle School USTA championship. Before the match the parents for the other team created an intense conflict with our parents and confronted Coach Carlson. They were complaining that our girls were too boisterous before the match and having too much fun. Coach Carlson assured the opposing team’s parents that we were allowed to cheer (in USTA team events the fans can cheer but not coach), and he encouraged them to cheer. One of their parents then confronted Coach Carlson intimating that they would just cheer louder than we did.
During the match I noticed that the opposing team did not have a culture of celebration, but seemed to have a stone faced attitude of confrontation. (It’s hard to get beyond the attitude of the parents.) We won 4-1 in matches and 61-20 in games.
A culture of Godly celebration will always defeat a worldly culture of confrontation.
Celebrate!
Prayer
Dear Father, thank You that You are not prudish, but You are a God of intense emotions and You desire that we share those emotions with You. Please help me today to celebrate and to give thanks to You unashamedly. Amen in the Name of Yeshua Messiah!
