Celebrate God's Work in Your Life

The next 10 weeks we will be looking at life lessons we can learn from Numbers Chapter 9.  Let's start right off with the first:

1. Celebrate God’s work in your life.

God is working in your life whether you notice or not. He works in us by His Holy Spirit. We can look back in our lives and see the hand of God changing us even if we don’t realize it on a day-to-day basis. God worked in my life before I made Him the Lord of my life. I can see that now, but once I surrendered to His will for me, the changes were much more dramatic and I was attuned to His work, so it was more noticeable. Perhaps your story is similar. God is always at work in and around His people. We should be sharing what we do see as part of our testimony.

In the Old Testament, we see many memorials and commemorations. I have often thought that such celebrations were a good idea. We celebrate Christmas and Easter, of course, but what if we celebrated the anniversary of our salvation? What if we celebrated the anniversary of a big change God made in our lives? What if we celebrated annually because we want to remember a holy moment we had experienced? I think this would be a very good, God-honoring practice that could serve as a testimony to others, especially unbelievers. Maybe you already do some of this celebrating. If so, maybe you could think about more commemorations you can celebrate.

Numbers chapter 9 begins with God calling for a Passover celebration at the appointed time; the 14th day of the first month. This may be the first time that the reader realizes that Numbers is not presented in chronological order. Chapter 1 started on the second month and now eight chapters later we are in the first month. God directed Moses to begin with the account of the numbering of Israel even though the Passover preceded it. God has His reasons for this; we can only speculate on what they may be. Israel is in the Desert of Sinai for this second Passover. This time they must simulate feelings of fear and urgency. On the one-year anniversary, I doubt this would be difficult. Feelings of an intense nature take a long time to fade. It is said that we remember most the events which occur in an atmosphere which is extremely positive or extremely negative. The Exodus journey went from negative to positive to negative to positive like a roller coaster, leaving indelible marks on the Israelites for all time. Even in this first year, the memories of Egypt and bondage and the plagues and how Pharaoh pursued them would generate many strong feelings.

When God instituted the Passover, He told them how to celebrate it and that they would celebrate it in the Promised Land (Exodus 12:25). God had to tell them to celebrate it this second time because they were not yet in the Promised Land. Just because they are not there yet, the Israelites have no reason to be disappointed. God is doing a great work amongst His people and establishing a nation mobilized for Him. In preparation for this first anniversary, God has moved the people to give to the creation of the Tabernacle; He has gifted men and women to create the Tabernacle, Ark, furnishings, multiple layers of curtains with frames and everything else required. God has also established the priesthood and other Levitical ministry at the Tabernacle. He has given rules for keeping the camp pure in preparation for this important feast. The altar was dedicated and the Israelites have made provisions for offerings and items the Levites needed for their ministry. Once all this work was done, the stage was set for a celebration to the Lord.

Passover

The Passover was a scary night when the avenging angel passed over the Israelite dwellings when killing all the firstborn males in Egypt. It was after Pharaoh’s son was killed that he told Moses that he could take the Hebrews into the desert to worship God. The Passover was to be celebrated annually to remember how God delivered His people from death, from Egypt and from slavery and how He led them to the Promised Land. There was much ceremony and symbolism in the preparation, the food, the words recited and even the placement of individuals at the table.

This first anniversary of the Passover would be bittersweet for those who expected that they would already be in the Promised Land by this time. When God led them out of Egypt, they had no idea what was in store. However, whenever we embark on any journey or take a step of faith, we have expectations. Unfulfilled expectations are what cause disappointment at best, disillusionment at worst. God is teaching them to trust Him. It is a lesson not easily learned.

When have you found that your expectations exceeded the results in a situation?

How did you handle the disappointment?

Has anything ever exceeded your expectations?

How does that make you feel?

This first Passover celebration was a time of joy in remembering where the Israelites came from and where they were going. When we celebrate weddings, often slide shows are shared which show the bride and groom each growing up separately then the pictures lead up to the time they met and share moments since they met. It is special to look at the beginnings of when they came together. Just like the Passover, this celebration looks back at where the bride and groom came from and the wedding celebration itself looks forward to their lives together with all of its possibilities. Celebrations need not be confined to weddings and births. Let's celebrate the Lord's work in our lives and commemorate His faithfulness.  Plan to do this on the next anniversary of a spiritual milestone in your life.  It will be a blessing to you and to others.