Created to Celebrate | Day 1
A Five-Day Devotional Journey on Joy, Gratitude, and the Goodness of God.
Created to Celebrate
By Sharon Hodde Miller
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” ~ Genesis 1:31
I’ll never forget the spring of 2020 when the world as we knew it shut down. Everything stopped. We stopped going to playgrounds, eating out, going to movies, and traveling. It all came to a grinding halt, except for one notable thing.
We didn’t stop celebrating.
If you had a birthday during that time, your birthday wasn’t cancelled. If you were supposed to graduate during that time, your family didn’t ignore that milestone. If you had a baby during that time, friends still sent food and gifts.
We didn’t stop celebrating. Instead, we just celebrated differently. We had birthday parades, parties on Zoom, and baby showers in driveways. It’s as if it never occurred to us that because we couldn’t gather physically, we had the option to stop celebrating.
And there’s a reason for that. Celebration is woven throughout Scripture. It begins with God Himself. After creating the world, He paused to delight in what He had made. He rested, not because He was tired, but because He chose to enjoy the goodness of His work. From the very beginning, celebration was part of creation, and He created us to celebrate, too.
Celebration appears in the Bible again and again. Jesus performed His first miracle at a wedding feast, turning water into wine so the celebration could continue. Before His crucifixion, He gathered with His disciples for a meal of remembrance and thanksgiving. And at the end of time, Revelation describes heaven as a wedding celebration with Christ.
God never intended life with Him to be joyless or merely dutiful. Celebration reminds us of who God is and keeps us grateful for all of His goodness in our lives.
Celebration is to become a way of life. The truth is, God created us to celebrate, not only because He is a God of joy, delight, abundance, and fun, but because when we celebrate, it transforms us as well.
Reflection
What blessings have you rushed past recently without celebrating?
How can you intentionally create rhythms of gratitude and joy this week?
What simple gift from God can you pause to enjoy today?
Practical Ways to Celebrate
Start a gratitude journal and list five gifts from today.
Share a meal with someone you love.
Take time to rest and enjoy God’s creation without rushing.
Plan a special celebration to honor someone you love.
Pray:
Lord, thank You for creating me to experience joy and delight in You. Teach me to slow down and notice Your goodness all around me. Help me make celebration a regular rhythm in my life this summer and not just something I reserve for special occasions. Amen.
