Celebrate, contemplate, commemorate

In this post you will learn to:

• Celebrate the moments you experienced God’s presence, power, or provision,

• Contemplate the moments you carried burdens that were not yours to carry,

• Commemorate God’s goodness into a symbol to carry with you into the next year.

As we continue our series on year end goals, we want to take some time to pause and reflect on God’s presence throughout the year, as a result, this segment will take on the form of a devotion.

We are in November, and some of us can already smell, hear, and taste Christmas. Decorations adorn shops, mince pies are being sold and Michael Bublé is playing on the radio. Whether you are running toward the finish line, miles ahead of your goal like the legendary Secretariate, or you are like a Springbok (player or supporter); fighting tooth and nail – one eye on the ball and the other on clock, I believe this moment of reflection can assist you in processing this last year and set you up for the next year. So, let’s jump in!

Celebrate

In Isaiah 45:1-13 (NLT) God called King Cyrus, God gave King Cyrus a purpose and promised support by way of His presence, power, and provision. You will find words like “I will go before you, Cyrus and level mountains. I will smash down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness”. Finally, God finished the call, in verse 13, with "I the Lord of Heaven’s Armies have spoken".

This brings us to our first step of reflection. Take some time to celebrate the moments during which you experienced God’s presence, power, or provision. Celebrate God for those times. Regardless of number of items on your list, take each and praise God for them. If you find yourself coming up short, try thinking about what you can thank God for.

Good questions you can use include:

·        What can I be thankful for?

·        Where did I win during the last year?

·        Where did I experience the Love of God?

Contemplate

In the book of Hagai we find another moment where God said ‘I, the Lord of Heaven’s armies have spoken’. In Hagai 2:1-6 (NLT) God spoke to Zerubbabel (governor of Judea) and Jeshua (the high priest). In this scripture God asked who among the people can remember the former glory of the Temple, and how the current temple might look like nothing in their eyes, yet God commanded them to be strong, that He will fill the temple with glory so much so that it will overtake its former glory.

Dallas Jenkins, creator of The Chosen, testifies about a profound statement his wife made to him in response to the immense task that laid before him: ‘It is not your job to feed the 5000, your job is to bring the loafs and fish’. It is easy to look at God’s command or the task ahead, see the greatness of the task and become fearful or start to carry burdens that are not ours to carry.

Take some time to contemplate, where in the last year have you been (or are still) carrying burdens that are not yours to carry. Are there areas of life that overwhelm you? In which areas are you weary to the point that you can’t see the faithfulness of God? In Matt 11:28 Jesus calls all that are weary and heavy burdened to come to Him and find rest. Take time to give those burdens (or fears) to Jesus. If you are struggling, ask Jesus to reveal to you those burdens.

Commemorate

We find multiple places in the bible where someone built and altar to commemorate something that God has done as a testimony to the next generations. We have looked at two scriptures where God has called and promised and ended it with “I have spoken”. Can you think of a symbol you can carry with you into next year, that will remind you that the God of Heaven’s Armies have spoken? Something you can look at when times feel challenging or overwhelming and be reminded of all the times you celebrated God for.

I have a sketch of an embrace as a screensaver, which reminds me of how the Love of Jesus envelops me each time I unlock my phone.

Coach U

Take time to reflect on this year, you can use this devotion or any other scriptures that God calls to heart and celebrate his faithfulness, contemplate unnecessary burdens you are carrying and hand them over, and finally commemorate your testimony into a symbol you can keep with you.

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